The Union Haddiema Maqghudin (UHM) today said it supported Malta Public Transport employees and said it had told the company management some months ago that it would not accept new working times if the workers were not consulted and if these changes were not beneficial to them.

The General Workers Union yesterday said it had registered an industrial dispute with MPT and said it would order the workers not to work the new routes and schedules that are part of the first phase of the introduction of the new network. In reply, the company insisted that the GWU had agreed to these changes but had now changed its mind.

In a statement today, UHM said that, although it seemed that the other union had already accepted these duties, the workers were refusing them. It said it was informed that employees were not consulted before a final decision was taken.

UHM said it had already informed Malta Public Transport that, should it introduce the new schedules, the union would be ready to order immediate industrial action. It would do so to support the will of the employees and even the GWU if this was to the benefit of the workers.