Ex-union secretary says Maltapost cart in which employee died ‘safer’ than bikes

A former General Workers’ Union official secretary has said that vehicles like those used by the Maltapost worker who lost her life in a traffic accident, were “safer than quad bikes and motorcycles”.

Jeremy Camilleri, a former postal worker and later union official, was commenting on queries raised on social media about the safety of vehicles used by Maltpost.

Camilleri said the carts had undergone a risk assessment by a qualified expert who deemed them perfectly safe. “This was not enough, and I had ordered a directive for them not to be used until the union’s health and safety representative could assess them. He also approved their use,” he said.

READ ALSO: Postwoman, 19, dies after vehicle overturns

On Thursday, a 19-year-old postal worker died after being crushed by the vehicle she was driving when it overturned. The accident happened at 8am, metres away from the Central Post Office in Qormi.

The chairman of the National Book Council, Mark Camilleri penned his frustration in a Facebook post over the incident, stating that “MaltaPost has a lot to answer for”.

“Do you really think those vehicles were made to be safe for workers? And where are our ministers in this?” Mark Camilleri said.

But Jeremy Camilleri, who was the GWU official responsible at the time, said the vehicles had been vetted by Transport Malta and other independent experts.

He also said that the vehicle was only capable of reaching 45 km/h, stating it would be more challenging to drive a motorcycle.

Jeremy Camilleri joined the outpouring of grief on social media at the loss of the 19-year-old woman. "It hurts me whenever a worker loses their life at work but the loss of a postwoman while performing her job, today, fills me with great sadness," he wrote.

Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo is holding a magisterial inquiry on the case, with the Qormi district police also launching an investigation.