An Arriva driver received seven €25 fines for obeying a General Workers’ Union directive to report to work without a tie due to the unbearable heat.
He was one of “dozens” of Arriva employees stopped and fined by Transport Malta inspectors as the regulator is arguing that ties are part of the uniform as listed in Arriva’s contractual agreement.
The GWU has promised to take this further, even warning of possible legal action. Union section secretary Charles Agius said Transport Malta was threatening Arriva employees and the fines were tantamount to intimidation.
“We will never accept this form of intimidation against workers who are obeying legitimate directives issued by a union that represents them.
“The union’s lawyer wrote to Transport Malta warning it about the consequences of what it was doing. They are doing all they can to undermine the union’s strength,” he said.
Mr Agius said the transport watchdog was acting “abusively” and its actions were also “illegal” because the directive was protected by the law on employment and industrial relations. He said that in its letter to Transport Malta chief executive Stanley Portelli, the union said it was forced to issue the directives because of the unbearable heat.
Mr Agius said Transport Malta was discriminating as it allowed its own employees not to wear a tie in summer but then would not have Arriva employees do the same.
The worker who received seven fines between Wednesday and yesterday said he could not understand why Transport Malta was taking this attitude when all they were doing was obeying union directives.
He said his union had assured him it would be looking into the matter on the workers’ behalf.
Samuel Grech, a spokesman for a group of workers who recently left the GWU to form their own house union, said they were also obeying the GWU directive.
Questions sent to Transport Malta on how many fines had been issued and how many Arriva employees were affected remained unanswered at the time of writing.
The GWU and Arriva are having talks on a new collective agreement, with the union requesting better salaries and better conditions.