Meeting with Water Bowser owners and with the Authorities to negotiate on their behalf are still ongoing in view of MRRA's attempt to impose unacceptable conditions on this self employed group of service providers. Water Bowsers are all members of GRTU and like all self-employed they are under tremendous pressure to make an economic profit given the increasing cost of labour, fuels, auto-parts, traffic fines, licences, taxes and electricity.
GRTU fails in fact to understand why Government authorities seem to be enjoying themselves on a self employed punishment spree. Vince Farrugia GRTU Director General explained that "So many groups of self-employed are being treated as parasites of no economic value, by people who ought to know better and who are supposedly politically committed to the PN manifesto, which clearly presents itself in support of the self-employed"
Business owners were particularly irked by the words of Minister George Pullicino in his address to the farmers as these words were perceived by bowser owners as a clear attempt to annihilate them. GRTU has now set up a second meeting with Minister Pullicino following a number of technical meetings with Dr Chris Said Permanent Secretary in a final attempt to seek an amicable solution.