Union’s bickering blamed for stalling public transport improvements

The ongoing “fights” between the General Workers Union and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin is stopping the Malta Public Transport from implementing the new services and improvements, according to the MPT.

Autobuses de Leon director Julio Tironi has called on the unions to cease the fighting, which was hindering both the provision of services and the workers themselves.

“We implore both unions to stop this fighting which is all to the detriment of the employees, public transport users and the country in general,” Tironi said.

“The unions should at least let the Company proceed with the improvements in the services under the current working conditions, until this legal contradiction that the unions themselves are creating, is solved.”

The company is currently facing three prohibitory injunctions: one prohibiting it from talking with UHM, another one prohibiting it from to talking with the GWU, and a third one prohibiting it from running a verification process to determine which union has the majority representation.

“We are complying with the current collective agreement conditions, duties and rest periods and all employment laws. We have not changed anything related to the working conditions for employees this year. Unfortunately for the employees, we haven’t been able to improve them, but they are definitely not worse than before. Until we have a new collective agreement, I’m afraid that they need to remain the same,” Tironi said.

Tironi said improvements in the working conditions were essential to reach an overall improvement in the bus service. “However the Company is ready to launch the new services and new routes with the current working conditions which comply with the collective agreement still in force until a new agreement is reached with whichever Union has representation.”

The MPT insisted that it had done its utmost to reach an agreement with the Union, offering much better conditions and accepting practically all the parameters that the employees are requesting.

“We are confident that we will reach an agreement with whichever union achieves representation in the near future. However, now is time to start delivering the public transport services that the Maltese public deserves.”

The MPT said that a court had confirmed a strike carried out by public transport workers was “illegal” and the Company was within its rights when it stopped both the GWU and UHM from striking in the interest of the general public’s right to mobility.

 The Court confirmed that when there is an industrial action, Article 64 of the Employment and Industrial Act (Chapter 452) must be complied with by the unions and employees, and the 50% rule must be upheld - therefore 50% of the bus service must be maintained.

The Court, the MPT added, also confirmed that such a strike impacts other Maltese workers in all other economic sectors, including those that work in sectors that the law consider to be essential services.

Every strike by workers that work within Public Transport, and every directive of any union to workers in this sector, are obliged to observe the minimum service, that is, “half of the public transport service”.

The Court also confirmed that the warrant was validly issued against the UHM and therefore the Company was correct to request the Court to order the UHM to stop striking in breach of the law. Even if UHM declared in Court that they had not participated in the strike, this decision proves that they could not sustain their claim.