Two employees of Malta Public Transport’s engineering department have claimed that their Spanish managers threatened to fire them and “show them the door” whenever they asked for better working conditions.

The two men, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of “repercussions,” approached The Malta Independent on Sunday after this paper carried an interview with MPT General Manager Konrad Pulè, who denied that workers had been threatened. He was replying to accusations put forward by the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, which claimed that MPT mechanics were told they could be easily replaced by foreigners.

The two MPT employees who spoke to this paper have been employed in public transport since Arriva took over. But they say conditions have never been as bad as they are now.

(MPT General Manager Konrad Pule')

“We were put on a shift comprising of two working nights and two days off. We were given no night shift allowance, no Sunday premiums, and no bonuses – just a basic wage. The situation remains the same, despite the service being taken over by the government and now by MPT,” one of the workers said.

Earlier this year, employees told the company they wished to work mixed day and night shifts as they felt that working only at night gave them no chance of having a normal life. “Our boss, a Spanish manager, told us that the system would change in three to four months’ time. Nothing has changed. When we spoke to him about the subject recently he told us: ‘Either you accept your working hours or you’re out. You know where the door is’.”

The two employees feel, however, that the situation was made worse by the fact that the company “discriminates” between workers and “accommodated” the demands of some of the workers.

They explained that the MPT garage has three different shifts: some, like them, work two night shifts in a row and have two days off, others work two nights/two days off / two day shifts/two days off, while others work from Monday to Friday between 7am and 3.30pm. According to the workers who spoke to this paper, those engaged in the latter shift earn around €4,000 more than the rest.

“We feel that this is completely unfair. We are not telling the management that we do not want to work nights. We are just saying that all employees should be treated equally and everyone should work their fair share of night shifts. It’s unfair that we always get to work at night while others enjoy better working hours.”

The workers say that to make matters worse, the company began discriminating on overtime as well. “We were told that the company was proposing an eight-hour shift system but we were not told what the days and working hours would be. It later turned out that they were proposing a five-day week with office hours. Since we did not know this at the time we did not sign the list they handed out. All those who did not sign were then told by the Spanish managers that they would not get any overtime.”

(The workers insist they were treated better under Arriva)

They insist that because of this situation, the company does not have enough workers to cover the overtime hours and has resorted to using contractors which cost MPT more. The workers insisted that this was nothing but “payback” for voicing a different opinion. “It is not as if we are refusing to work,” thy said

They also claim that the company promotes people whom it deems problematic in order to “shut them up”. They insisted that a particularly effective shop steward was made manager. Having him part of the management team has stopped him standing up for the workers, they said. The company, they claim, also makes direct appointments instead of issuing an internal call, as happened with Arriva.

The engineering employees also claimed that ever since the Spanish company ALESA has taken over no more Maltese students have trained with MPT. “Student mechanics nowadays are Spanish. Most of the cleaners are also foreigners.” The mechanic said that the Spanish managers have told the workers on several occasions that they can be replaced by foreign workers with just one phone call.

“When it comes to shift hours the company always does what it pleases and takes its decisions alone. When we ask for what is ours, like shift allowances and bonuses, they tell us that that is an issue which must be discussed with the union.” They said most of the engineering department workers have shifted from the General Workers Union to Union Haddiema Maghqudin as the former “was not really standing up for our rights”. UHM, they said, is currently undergoing a verification process.

The workers also claimed MPT never gave them a contract, not even a document stipulating their work conditions. The only thing they have to go by is the contract they had signed with Arriva some four years back.

“They are doing everything they can to annoy us,” said one of the workers. “We had a better relationship with the Arriva management. They used to listen to us and they appreciated our work.

“MPT came to Malta with all their ‘open communication channel’ mantras but every time we speak up about something they show us the door.”

 

MPT denies threats, says working conditions being streamlined

The allegations made by the two workers were forwarded to MPT to which the transport company replied that working conditions were being streamlined in the collective agreement. MPT again denied that workers were being threatened, but insisted that everyone had to realise that changes, while not easy, had to be implemented.

“The company is currently in the final stages of negotiations leading to a new collective agreement for all employees, including those working in the Maintenance Department. As has already been explained, it is essential that a number of changes are implemented within the organisation – certain practices that had been adopted over the years must change,” a spokesperson said.

“It is understandable that change may not be easy for employees, and the company is doing its utmost to manage this change as smoothly as possible. And, while the company does not and will not threaten any employees, the facts must be explained clearly for the employees to be always informed about the situation.”

“With regard to the current shifts and allowances, it is true that there are employees that have different shifts or working hours to others in the Maintenance Department. This is one of the reasons why the Company is proposing to streamline the working conditions for everyone in the Maintenance Department so all employees are treated equally, including night shift allowances. We are confident that this matter will be addressed with the new collective agreement.”

MPT insisted that overtime was being allocated to anyone that was willing to work extra hours “but the company firsts chooses those that would have worked on eight-hour shifts instead of those that work on a 12-hour shift for health and safety reasons. This too will be resolved once the new collective agreement is signed.”

“With regard to students and foreign employees, the Company has the benefit of being part of a larger group of companies which offers opportunities to a number of employees, students or apprentices to come to Malta. This should be seen as a positive measure as this provides the Maltese employees with the opportunity to share experiences. It also paves the way for future schemes that can be offered to Maltese employees to work abroad which is also a positive opportunity. The Company is already working on a scheme that will attract Maltese students to become apprentices and one student has already been engaged.”