GRTU on war path as government calls for more dialogue

During the union’s general meeting on Sunday morning, GRTU condemned the government’s behaviour throughout the issue as “condemnable and damaging.” The union was referring to the way existing and enforced agreements reached in 1992 mean that gas distribution licences were bound to particular territories.

Breaching these territories meant that licence holders (distributors) would be breaching the conditions of their licences.

However Easygas, the new kid on the gas distribution block, was allowed a licence that is not tied to a particular zone or territory, meaning that it is in breach of the existing exclusivity guaranteed by the licensing system, the distributors are claiming.

The issue caused considerable unrest over the end of year period, as industrial action almost took place just days before Christmas Day, one of the busiest times of the year for catering and entertainment establishments.

Reacting to the GRTU’s calls for mobilisation, the government said that it is committed towards a strong regulatory system which guaranteed fair competition to the benefit of consumers, operators, distributors and the government.

The government reiterated that the best solutions are found through dialogue, adding that this is why it had been involved in a number of meetings with all the parties concerned over the past weeks.

The government also appealed to all parties concerned not to close doors on dialogue and discussion.

At their annual general meeting this morning, GRTU members encouraged and authorised the council to start mobilising all its sectors to protest together against the government behaviour with gas distributors.

The meeting condemned the government for breaching an agreement reached in 1992 with the GRTU in the gas liberalisation issue and said the way the government behaved in the case was condemnable and damaging.