GRTU slams fuel price increase, 'adds pressure on business community'

In its statement, the SMEs Chamber slammed the government as not “realising the tremendous pressure” this increase is causing on all those who depend on fuels to work with.

The  price of diesel today stands at €1.12 per litre against the price of €0.97 per litre in January of this year.

“Small enterprise owners and self employed work in sectors such as the food industry, waste carriage and construction find it extremely hard to pass on extra costs to their clients,” GRTU Director General Vincent Farrugia said.

“Most buyers of their services, including government and public service authorities, find it hard to accept to change contracts,” Farrugia said, adding this means the operators will have to suffer increases of fuel prices themselves.

“For many operators who use heavy transport, this week’s fuel increases represent losses of between €30 to €45 per week,” he said.

Farrugia reiterated that the Chamber cannot understand why “during a stage of economic development when most small operators are still suffering from a depressed market, the Finance Minister inflicts such an addition burden on the distribution and transport sector.”

The GRTU said it cannot accept the system adopted by the Malta Resource Authority by which it approves increases of energy prices.

“The additional increase of diesel and fuel oil prices by Enemalta is once again not sufficiently explained,” the Chamber said, stating that the MRA is supposed “to exist to safeguard users’ interest”.

“GRTU expects government to relieve pressures on small independent operators in transport and distribution and not to proceed heedless of the impact on small businesses,” Farrugia said. “It is simply not correct that this sector continues to be singled out of continuous punishment.”

Farrugia also said that the Chamber will be discussing with the Director of Local Government to make sure that deadline for all Local Councils is set in order for new contracts to be concluded.

“In the new contracts of the waste carriers and skip loaders is included an indexation formula for increases in the price of diesel. However, there are still a good number of local councils who have not finalised the new contracts.”

Farrugia insisted that “it is high time that government seriously realizes that competition is not merely a question of prices but also of standards and quality of service.”