Malta Public Transport has cancelled an agreement which would have seen a British company supplying it with drivers paid substantially more than drivers engaged in Malta.

The agreement was revealed last week by Times of Malta and subsequently criticised by transport shadow minister Adrian Delia.

In a statement on Thursday, the bus service operator insisted it had not done any wrongdoing and had acted in line with legislation.

"Notwithstanding, the company has decided to cancel the agreement," it said.

It explained that it had been forced to look into this solution as a temporary measure for three months due to delays in the recruitment process.

Fifteen bus drivers were sourced through the UK agency but they have not yet carried out any public transport driving duties and will shortly be returning to the UK.

The company said it continuously recruits bus drivers from Malta and around the world. It currently has 26 licensed bus drivers who have completed their training and are waiting to sit for their Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) test.

Another 74 drivers are in training, their recruitment having been delayed by permitting and visa issues.

"Therefore, the company has sufficient resources who, due to bureaucracy and unjustified delays, are unable to work," the company said. 

"Malta Public Transport reiterates that it is an equal opportunities employer that employs around 1,300 employees across its operations. Employment conditions for all its workforce are published in a collective agreement and do not discriminate on the basis of nationality, gender, religious beliefs or anything else."

It said it had introduced an allowance for current drivers to work overtime, over and above the regular over-time rate as stipulated by law.

"Just like the outsourced bus drivers in the contingency plan, this initiative aims to secure enough human resources to deliver the public transport service without interruptions, for the benefit of all bus passengers," it said.