The controversy over the relocation of the Valletta open-air market (monti) has not yet been settled, even though two long meetings were held between government and union representatives yesterday.

During a meeting between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Union Haddiema Maghqudin representatives in the afternoon, the two parties agreed to resume discussions from scratch as regards the permanent relocation of the market.

Soon after the meeting with Dr Gonzi, a committee composed of UHM representatives and members of the street hawkers’ committee met with a government delegation led by parliamentary secretary for small businesses and the self-employed Edwin Vassallo.

About three hours into the second meeting, which started at 6pm, the outcome was still unknown, and union representative Nicholas Baldacchino told The Malta Independent that the meeting had not yet ended.

He said the hawkers’ committee had to give their reasons as regards their opposition to the government’s proposed site for the relocation of the open market. He added that the White Paper on the relocation of the open-air market would be drawn up from scratch.

Last week, the 115 street hawkers that operate the Valletta market refused to put up their stalls at St James Ditch – the temporary site for the market as proposed by the government while new paving was being laid along the market’s original site in Merchants Street.

They also staged three protest marches along the central streets of the capital last week, as they complained that the ditch was not an appropriate temporary relocation and they proposed to temporarily relocate the market to Freedom Square.

They stubbornly opposed the government’s proposal to permanently relocate the market further down Merchants Street and refused to accept the government’s other proposals for temporary and permanent relocation, particularly since they said the government’s proposals were not decent solutions and the government had gone ahead with its decision without consulting with them.

On Friday, the union filed a judicial protest against the authorities, claiming that the government’s decision to temporarily relocate the open-air market to St James Ditch and permanently relocate it further down Merchants Street, was illegal and posed a threat to the hawkers’ health and safety.