The General Workers Union this afternoon ordered a full-day strike by bus drivers on Friday after negotiations with Malta Public Transport failed.

The stoppage ordered by the union starts at 4am and will last the whole day, GWU secretary general Tony Zarb said in a press conference this afternoon.

There will be service on Saturday but the union has reserved the right to order further action if negotiations continue to fail.

Mr Zarb said the GWU had received an ambiguous letter from the MPT after the union had given the company a 48-hour ultimatum.

The union, he said, is open for talks but will withdraw its industrial action order only if agreement is reached.

The union is demanding a minimum 30-minute break every six hours, an increase in wages, a fixed day off and new shifts. It had also asked for written guarantees.

UHM supports strike

In a statement issued this evening the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, which represents some of the company's workers, said it supported the Malta Public Transport employees in their fight for better conditions and expected results without any further dragging of feet.

UHM said it had been insisting for months that the MPT workers' duties were unacceptable and noted that the GWU was finally taking action to address the situation. It appealed to its members to obey the strike action.

Three hour talks do not lead to a solution. Strike still on.

A General Workers Union statement at 8.40pm said that despite a three-hour meeting called by the Ministry of Transport no agreement has been reached.

The strike is thus on, GWU said, and rumours that a 50% service will be offered are untrue.