(Adds government reaction)

Unions have directed the public not to pay their water and electricity bills within the established 45-day time window.

In a statement given outside Castille this afternoon (see video), the 11 unions which have been seeking government clarifications on the tariffs, did not exclude giving additional directives in future.

The unions last Saturday gave the Prime Minister an ultimatum until today for a meeting to discuss the tariffs.

In its reaction, the government said that an extensive and intensive dialogue process had been carried out with unions and constituted bodies both within the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development as well as out of it.

An agreement had been reached with unions and this was formalised in a letter dated November 24.

Some unions requested technical clarifications but were refusing to meet the regulator, which was the Malta Resourceds Authority. This did not make sense, the government said.

The 11 unions are the General Workers’ Union, the Malta Union of Teachers, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, the Union of Cabin Crew, the Union Ħaddiema Bank Ċentrali, the Union Technical and Clerical Mepa, the Union Professjonisti Awtorità għall-Ambjent u Ppjanar, the University of Malta Academic Staff Association, the Airline Pilots Association, the Union Periti u Inġiniera Servizz Pubbliku and the Association of Airline Engineers.