Petrol station owners are suspending their industrial action as from Friday evening as a sign of goodwill, the GRTU Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises said.

Industrial action started on Tuesday, with fuel pumps switched off when stations closed at 6pm each evening until the station reopened the following day.

The GRTU will be meeting the government on Saturday in a bid to find a solution to the current impasses.

The GRTU said petrol station owners want to cause least inconvenience to car owners and wanted to show goodwill ahead of Saturday’s meeting.

The action is being suspended Friday but the GRTU said it did not exclude taking further action if discussions do not lead to an agreement.

Fuel stations went on strike after talks between the government and the GRTU, on the possibility of the government funding the renovation of fuel stations, broke down.

In 2014, the GRTU presented the government with a detailed study on a restructuring programme that needed to be in place by 2020. To get in line with an EU directive, the study showed that all the equipment of 80 out of the 90 petrol stations in Malta and Gozo would need to be changed. This includes the petrol pumps, piping and the underground storage tanks.

The study noted that a total of €21 million was needed to complete all the necessary petrol pump upgrades needed to get in line with the EU directive.

In a statement on Wednesday, the government said the Malta Resources Authority had, in 2011 allowed fuel station owners to set higher profit margins on condition that they would pay for the investment required to be carried out by 2020.

The government said it had noted the increases requested by the GRTU but did not accept in view of the fact that consumer prices increase according to the international fuel prices.

The government offered an increase that was higher than that decided in 2011 which does not put any added burden on families and businesses, the government said, adding that it was still open to discussion.