Bus owners ready to go before industrial tribunal

The Public Transport Association is prepared to take the Malta Transport Authority before an industrial tribunal if it continues to reject as too steep its requested increase in compensation.

The association, which ordered industrial action on Monday, wants the gross revenue for a bus owner to rise from Lm10,200 to Lm15,000, from which expenses of Lm4,000 to Lm5,000 will then be deducted.

The total current government subsidy to bus owners amounts to Lm800,000 a year.

Association president Victor Spiteri said the request for an increase in compensation, of Lm4,800 per owner, was based on the period 1999-2002. An increase of Lm3,052 per owner to cover the previous three years was granted not long ago.

If the authority insisted that the association's demand was too high, the latter was willing to take the matter to the industrial tribunal, Mr Spiteri said.

It was up to the government to decide whether to grant the increase in the form of higher subsidies or through an increase in bus fares. The association could only make proposals, he said.

The association's request was based on a study conducted by economist Lino Briguglio, who had been commissioned by the government. It was the third such study by Prof. Briguglio - the first was held in 1995, the second in 1998 and the latest one in 2001. It was a complex proposal based on the increases in cost of living, labour and maintenance costs, among others, Mr Spiteri explained.

He said the association was not ready to accept a reduction in the number of bus permits. The 508 permits covered owners/drivers who worked according to an official roster on a day-in, day-out basis - there always being 254 buses doing route work. On their days off, the other drivers did other work to supplement their salary.

The association, Mr Spiteri said, agreed with the introduction of smaller buses but they should be introduced over and above the 508.

He referred to a comprehensive plan proposed by the association to improve public transport. The plan, which it was ready to implement straight away, consisted of changes to the current network including direct routes between different localities, circular village routes and the amalgamation of routes between neighbouring localities.

The current routes, Mr Spiteri said, made sense 30 years ago but not today.

The plan had been presented to the authority some three months ago but the authority did not believe that the association would go through with it. It had therefore not taken it any further, Mr Spiteri said.