The build-up was full of pomp. Eleven unions sat down together and, in a press conference on 2 January, when everyone was recovering from the sumptuous New Year’s Day lunch, they threatened the government that action would be taken unless Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi agreed to meet them to discuss the revision of the water and electricity tariffs.

The unions gave the Prime Minister a week’s notice to accede to their request. But Dr Gonzi called their bluff and maintained his stand, that is to refer the unions to the Malta Resources Authority.

The week passed, and the unions decided to call another press conference, this time on the steps leading up to the Prime Minister’s Office in Valletta. And, yes, the unions did come up with their so-called “action”; yet their directive was far from being the strong approach that they gave the impression they were going to take.

They did not order a general strike, or a partial strike, as some were predicting and even pushing for in a bid to put the government with its back against the wall. They did not even order a kind of civic disobedience campaign, such as by telling people not to pay the energy bills that have started to arrive at households and industry, or by paying them in instalments.

All they did was call on the people to take their time, and pay their bills just before the end of the 45-day window that Enemalta Corporation and the Water Services Corporation demand when they send their bill. So, what the unions said was that people should follow the rules, which is basically what most of them do anyway.

Stronger directives might be in the offing in the next few days if the unions persist in their endeavour to try to make the government change its mind. But the unions’ first directive was a tame attempt that exposed the unions’ weakness.

For one thing, not all the unions are of the same opinion. In fact, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, which is the second largest union on the islands, and the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions have distanced themselves from the 11 unions that are taking on the government. The CMTU and the UHM have agreed with the new tariffs as detailed in a letter Dr Gonzi sent in November following lengthy meetings with all the unions.

It must also be recalled that the CMTU and the UHM had marched alongside these 11 unions on 14 November to pass a resolution calling upon the government to reconsider its position on the water and electricity rates. But, since then, the CMTU and UHM have accepted the conditions, and broke away from the rest.

This division has obviously weakened the stand taken by the 11 other unions, and the directive they issued last week was the perfect example that the unions who stood on the Castille steps do not believe they have enough support with which to face the government.

Secondly, the unions requested “the people” to pay their bills as late as possible within the established deadline. There was no mention of “union members” who are, after all, the people that the unions actually represent.

Soon after this directive was announced, the OPM issued another statement in which it once again asked the 11 unions to seek assistance from the MRA if they wanted to clarify matters.

Last Friday, on the day when the unions’ deadline expired, this newspaper said that the ball was in the unions’ court. Well, they did strike it, but the shot was too weak to bother the government, which has hit back.

It is the unions’ turn again. So far, their tactics have not worked.