The 115 street hawkers who operate the Valletta open-air market (monti) have been occupying Freedom Square since Monday evening, after long meetings held between government and hawkers’ representatives proved to be unsuccessful.

In a statement issued late last night, as soon as a meeting between government and hawkers’ representatives ended, the Investment, Industry and IT Ministry said the parties had discussed the government’s proposal for the permanent relocation of the market along the stretch of Merchants Street that links Old Theatre Street to Archbishop Street.

During the meeting, which was led by Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt and Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and the Self-Employed Edwin Vassallo, the

government presented its newly proposed plan, which allows for the same distance between the hawkers’ stalls as was permissible in Merchants Street, while also providing the same level of accessibility.

The government also agreed that, should the two parties reach an agreement over the permanent relocation of the open-air market, it would concede to the hawkers’ suggestion to temporarily relocate their stalls to Freedom Square.

In the statement, the government said that while it was ready to continue discussing the situation, it was not prepared to discuss the permanent relocation of the market any further.

The government said its primary aim was to improve the overall appearance of the capital city, while generating economic activity. This would benefit street hawkers as much as it would benefit every commercial operator, the statement concluded.

Ever since the government ordered a temporary relocation of the open-air market to St James Ditch last week, the street hawkers have refused to put up their stalls and have protested at the entrance to the ditch all week.

They also organised three protest marches, while the Union Haddiema Maghqudin filed a judicial protest against the authorities on Friday, claiming that the government’s decision to temporarily relocate the 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. The UHM also warned that it was planning possible sympathy action.

After two long meetings were held between government and union

representatives on Monday, the two parties were close to reaching an agreement regarding the permanent relocation of the street market.

In a statement, the government said that before committing itself to the agreement, it made a request to the hawkers’ representatives to postpone the meeting until yesterday morning.

The government said it wanted to verify certain technical details of the site under discussion and it also wanted to consult other organisations concerned before a final decision was taken. However, the UHM refused to confirm that it would meet government representatives to resume discussions yesterday morning.

Instead, the union instructed the hawkers to occupy Freedom Square, where they spent the night and all day yesterday. They parked their vehicles in the square at about 11pm on Monday, but did not put out their wares and spent the rest of yesterday there in protest. At certain points, the hawkers even asked passers-by for spare change, as they were not being allowed to work.

Meanwhile, in a letter sent to Minister Gatt, the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU) expressed its concern that it had not been involved in consultations with the Valletta street hawkers.

The GRTU said that as a result of the presence of the Valletta open air-market in Merchants Street, GRTU members who own shops in Merchants Street, St John Street and Old Theatre Street have been suffering a loss of custom for years; the fact that the stalls are much larger than established legal limits made accessibility to the shops difficult.

The appearance of the stalls and the type of wares gave the whole street a mediocre appearance and this encroached upon the heavy investment made by shop owners, said the GRTU.

In no way did this mean that the GRTU was against the presence of an open-air market in the capital. GRTU secretary-general Vince Farrugia said the site as proposed by the government would extend Valletta’s commercial centre and would benefit the street hawkers who operate the market as much as it would benefit the shop owners in Merchants Street.

Mr Farrugia said the hawkers’ arguments were dominated by rhetoric that made little sense in the context of traditional industrial relations and no sense in an entrepreneurial context.

He added that the GRTU’s presence at consultation meetings would bene-fit the interests of the street hawkers themselves and the chamber’s suggestion was for the government to bring together the various stakeholders in the commercial sector.

The General Workers Union also issued a statement yesterday, in which it expressed disappointment that no agreement has yet been reached between the government and the street hawkers.

The GWU suggested that the open-air market be temporarily relocated to Freedom Square until an adequate solution was found.