The government should be commended for not giving in to the absurd demands of the public transport operators last week. Had it done so, it would have shown a sign of weakness that they would have taken advantage of.

It is about time that the bus drivers and their colleagues realise that they are not above the law. The police did the right thing in charging a number of people and the courts gave an example of firmness by not granting bail.

This country has been held at ransom too many times by such people, who think they own the road. Like everybody else, they have every right to strike, but they should have done so without creating so much fuss.

By blocking roads they prevented others from going to work or arriving late. This loss of man-hours reduced the country’s productivity, not to mention the damage caused to the tourism industry, with all those tourists arriving at Luqa airport thinking that they must have landed in some country where a civil war was taking place.

David Camilleri

Sliema