Transport Malta said on Friday it was open for "cordial negotiations" for the benefit of all employees, following industrial action ordered by UĦM - Voice of the Workers.

In a statement, the transport watchdog said that one of the first meetings that TM's CEO Jonathan Borg had with the union was a show of his willingness to continue negotiating a collective agreement for TM employees.

Transport Malta recently appointed Borg as CEO, replacing Jeffrey Curmi who held the role for less than a year.

The introductory meeting, TM said, was followed by another meeting between UĦM and the authority's representatives to discuss the issue.

As of Wednesday, TM officials have not been issuing fines. The industrial action was triggered by what UĦM described as an “unacceptable delay” in talks over a new collective agreement.

UĦM transport section manager Kenneth Abela told Times of Malta that TM officials will not be issuing contraventions while the industrial action is underway, but will still be stopping motorists who break the law and “speaking to them for educational purposes”.

The directive also sees TM officials reporting for work according to their original detail and not being redirected to other assignments, as customarily happens. Officials will also not be responding to phone calls until the issue is resolved.

According to the UĦM, talks on a collective agreement began in 2020, however, the union only received TM’s counter-proposals recently, with talks having stalled shortly after last year’s general election.

UĦM also pointed to the recent turnover of CEOs at the transport regulator as a reason given for talks having stalled. 

UĦM will further escalate the action if an agreement is not reached by May 23.