Updated | Malta Public Transport denies claims it is ‘manipulating driver rosters’

Malta Public Transport has vehemently denied claims by an Opposition MP that is manipulating bus drivers’ rosters so as to avoid paying them higher wages when they work on their rest days.

“We categorically deny manipulating and employees’ roster; we comply with all applicable laws and regulations,” a company spokesperson told MaltaToday. “Moreover, we are discussing a number of improvements that can be made to employees’ conditions with their union.”

“In 2015, Malta Public Transport recruited more than 500 new drivers in order to ensure that there are enough drivers to work the 5,200 daily trips the company operates.

We have always welcomed feedback from employees and will continue to do so. We understand that some of our employees seek politicians to voice their concerns, but we take this opportunity to remind all our staff that the doors of our Human Resources Department are always open.”

Shadow transport minister Marthese Portelli on Tuesday revealed a copy of a bus drivers’ roster for this week and the following one that showed a blatant anomaly for the hours the particular driver has been instructed to work this Saturday. Indeed, it shows that the driver has been instructed to work between “24:35 and 29:08”.

The Opposition MP explained that this irregularity stemmed from the fact that the driver was told to work on his day off on Sunday, meaning that MPT was contractually obliged to pay him higher wages for those hours.

“To avoid doing so, they added those hours to his schedule on Saturday instead, which led to the anomaly,” she said.

In her parliamentary adjournment speech, Portelli warned that public transport has taken a sharp turn for the worse since the new routes were introduced in December.

“Some routes have been needlessly lengthened, others have been completely removed, and bus frequencies have been slashed,” she said. “People don’t know if and when the bus will arrive at the bus stops.

“Three years have passed since the election. The Spanish company [Autobuses de Leon] that owns Malta Public Transport calls all the shots, transport minister] Joe Mizzi simply bows his head, and the public gets the short end of the stick.”