The Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises has always maintained that Valletta open-air market should be equipped with high-quality stalls and good quality products, and that it should be located in an area that does not create an inconvenience to shops in the main streets.

A good quality open-air market has its place in Valletta but a flea market should be located outside the capital city’s walls, the GRTU said in a statement.

In its discussions with the government on the CVA system, the GRTU had always maintained that anyone who had a business located in Valletta should be given adequate parking facilities.

The issue over where hawkers would park their vehicles was never raised but it was always understood that they should have an area for this purpose. However, the GRTU denied that the government had ever indicated that hawkers would have the right to park their vans wherever they liked and free of charge, and therefore the GRTU is opposing the idea of allowing the hawkers to leave their vehicles in or close to Valletta’s main commercial area.

The space created for pay-per-use parking was aimed to attract more consumers, and not to accommodate hawkers, the GRTU said.