And suddenly, just like that… it was all over.

Making good on their threat to bring Malta to a standstill, that is exactly what the Malta Transport Federation did in the first three days of this week. By Wednesday, as the hearse owners (magically) caved in, withdrew from the Federation, and went back to work, talks were underway again with the rest of the strikers. After three days of mayhem, we woke up to an eerily quiet Thursday. The strange silence and empty roads lasted all day.

I turned on the evening news to see a calm, composed Prime Minister saying that the strike was over, public transport would resume as normal and talks would start about the liberalisation process.

Can you blame us if we are all going around saying “Huh?”

On the one hand, yes, it’s a relief that order has been restored, but couldn’t this rational approach of holding talks have been the first step? And did clamping down on the violence and intimidation really need to take so long? The scenes we witnessed were ugly and disgraceful and won’t be erased that easily from our collective memories. The chaos, upheaval and level of arrogance the public had to endure are simply unacceptable.

How it all began

The whole thing was sparked off by the decision to grant more licences for hearses, thus ending the 50-year monopoly of 10 operators. Those who were only vaguely aware of what was going on around them could not understand at first why the drivers of buses, white taxis and minivans were also on strike. Well, it’s because, sniffing change in the air, they all recently got together and formed the Malta Transport Federation, in other words, a union. They reasoned that if the government was starting with the liberalisation of hearses, their sector would be next. And they were right. Monopolies have to go – that is one of the things we signed up for on becoming members of the EU.

If people who work in these types of protected industries were not aware of this and voted ‘Yes’ for the EU, they either did not bother to read the fine print, or else believed what they wanted to believe. That letter sent by Jesmond Mugliett to the Public Transport Association before the election, which was being waved about by the strikers, does not promise the perpetuation of any monopoly. It is ambiguously worded yes, and when receiving it at the time it did probably lead them to believe it was some type of “promise”, but their interpretation of it was way off the mark.

What the letter does say is that there are no guarantees, that an agreement has to be reached within the parameters of EU legislation, and that the government will be compensating them in return for liberalising the market.

I did it my way

As the strike unfolded, the man of the hour seemed to be Austin Gatt. Even people who voted Labour surprised themselves in their scramble to praise Austin for his refusal to budge despite the threats and intimidating tactics used by the drivers.

On Monday, the mood of the public was definitely foursquare behind mighty Austin, but things changed when, by Wednesday, the frustrated strikers were out of control. Drivers of private coaches were being hauled from their vehicles and punched around, windscreens were being smashed and Malta’s main roads were blocked, imprisoning people in their cars. Commuters couldn’t get to work, tourists were hauling their luggage on foot to the airport and long lines of language students were seen walking everywhere. Anarchy had taken over and the feeling in the country had shifted.

Where was the Prime Minister, people were demanding? Why isn’t the Police Force being more forceful? Why are they using this gentle, cajoling approach? Or do police officers only show they’re tough with defenceless immigrants? Why are these thugs being allowed to get away with this? Call in the Army, the SAG, throw tear gas at them, tow away their buses, knock a few heads together – the instructions and advice being bandied about on the Internet grew increasingly drastic.

Some people were actually longing nostalgically for Mintoff “because he definitely would not have put up with this”.

For many, it seemed that the government was not prepared for what happened and had no clue what to do next. It was like the 1960s all over again…“shh tghajjatx ghax tqajjem lill-Gvern” (Shh! Don’t shout because you’ll wake up the government).

It took until late Thursday afternoon for the Prime Minister to make a public statement, saying he would not tolerate lawbreaking. We were on the verge of a national crisis and he was conspicuous by his absence (the least he could have done was send a video message from France).

As for those who at first were egging Austin on, they too began to question whether perhaps, he could have tried something other than his usual bulldozer approach.

Striking out

On the other hand, it was clear that the strikers had not thought things through. For, if you are in a business that depends entirely on the public (hence, “public” transport) why create a situation where the public is going to get very, very mad at you? If there was a remote possibility of some public sympathy for the drivers, it was immediately dissipated on the very first day. The more violent elements among them took over in their misguided belief that might is right.

They could not have got it more wrong.

And where were the wardens, may I ask, in all that bedlam? I suppose it’s easier to pick on us if our front tyre so much as touches a yellow line, than it is to slap a ticket on a bully.

There seems to be one law for those who are aggressive and another law for the rest of us. My jaw dropped as I watched on TV one of the angry strikers arrogantly shouting and waving his finger in a policeman’s face. Oh, so now it’s allowed to talk back to a police officer? Maybe I’ll just try that the next time I’m stopped at a roadblock.

And incidentally, thugs are thugs… should we really care if they vote Labour or Nationalist (although to some people, thugs somehow are inevitably defined as Labour)? I would think, however, that those furiously waving that wishy-washy Jesmond Mugliett letter were so enraged precisely because they voted PN.

Power to the people

Civil society expressed itself the only way it knows how… not by taking to the streets, but by venting its frustration on the Internet. Almost right away, the Malta Transport Reform Action Group was up and running on Facebook, with over 2000 members in a matter of days. (At the time of writing the group had 2,869 members).

The group described itself as “intending to empower the citizen, both those using public transport, as well as those who do not, to fight back.”

As businesses lost money, employees were forced to take unpaid leave, and tourists stepped off their planes to witness a country in shambles, ordinary citizens are now echoing union boss Tony Zarb’s famous phrase, “Now that’s it, enough”.

Apart from the way they went about their strike, the drivers made another serious miscalculation – rather than supporting them in their fight, the public was cheering at the news that liberalisation is on its way.

One driver was interviewed and his logic was priceless. Since they will be adversely affected by the proposed liberalisation and will be “suffering”, he said, we the public have to be patient and “suffer” too. And this with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. You have got to be kidding me.

The majority of the country has been disgusted with the whole issue of transport for many years and everyone is clamouring for reform. Our public transport does not live up to its name – it does not adequately serve our needs to transport us from one place to the other. And chances are, when you do use a bus, minivan or taxi, the money you pay includes a free lesson in Maltese expletives and a speeding, reckless ride that makes your hair stand on end.

As someone rightly pointed out on Facebook, “How else do you explain why in a country so small, almost everyone prefers to have his own car rather than use a bus?”

At one point I joined in a discussion everyone was having on this Facebook group with a young man whose whole family are in the taxi business. At 18, he cannot wait until he too can start driving a taxi, and he was there putting forward his arguments in favour of the strike. After endless posts, it was clear we were saying lots of things but we still weren’t communicating. All he could focus on was that his father’s livelihood was being threatened, and that liberalisation was unfair to his family who had invested everything in their taxis.

The rest of us, meanwhile, were trying to point out that in a free market economy, those who give the best service and value for money would survive. Everyone was giving examples of taxis demanding exorbitant rates (e20 for two people from Baystreet to Sliema), compared to the much cheaper rates in other parts of Europe for longer distances. The discussion went on and on to no avail. The 18-year-old aspiring taxi driver stuck persistently to his guns and wouldn’t give an inch, while the rest of us futilely tried to point out that in the real world, no one’s job is guaranteed. Everyone in private enterprise is in competition in one way or another – just like this very newspaper competes with its “rivals” every time it hits the stands.

People open up shops and businesses all the time, investing their life’s savings and hoping against hope that they will survive in a cutthroat copycat environment where one hairdresser opens shop, only to find another hairdresser opening a salon a couple of months later, just a few doors down the road. Malta is a limited market no matter what sector you’re in – and if the transport sector is only now waking up to the fact that the governmental safety net is not going to be there for very much longer – well, then it just has to join the rest of us who live that reality every day.

Throwing money at the problem

I wonder if I smash a few windscreens and spout a stream of obscenities outside Castille, whether I will be given a nice tidy sum by the government to behave myself and go away quietly?

According to reports, the Malta Hearses Association walked away with e230,000– not bad for stamping your feet, blocking roads and not caring that bereaved relatives cannot bury their loved ones. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting impatiently to see how much it will cost us to get the sight of all those other hairy beer bellies off the roads.

Have you noticed how it pays to be a bully who breaks the law in this country? Illegal squatters in Armier, drivers who go on a rampage, hunters who shoot at everything in sight. The government makes a show of looking macho, then quivers and backs down.

What was that election slogan again? Oh yes, I remember: “Vote Gonzi… because you can’t put a price on peace of mind.”

Actually there is a price, isn’t there. That’s the thing about these nifty catchphrases… they have a funny way of coming back to haunt you.

Some manners at last

As last week I described a rude, unhelpful clerk at the Passport office, it is only fair to point out that my second experience was more positive.

I went to collect my passport (from another section) and was met with courtesy and a smile by the woman at the desk. Her colleague meanwhile was patiently helping two tourists who were trying to find some landmark in Valletta.

Maybe they could give some lessons to the girl next door.

And while I’m at it, a thumbs up also goes to Melita Cable, which this week came to change our analogue boxes to digital. The job was done quickly and the technician was polite and efficient. When later that night, at 9pm, I realised that our movie channel was blocked, I phoned them up and, once again, the technician on the other end was helpful, well mannered and attended to my request immediately.

Two polite people in one day! I actually had to sit down from the shock.

There is hope yet.

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