Former Air Malta staff members are demanding compensation they say some of their colleagues received in arrears due to the national airline’s 2004-2011 wage freeze.

Twenty-eight former employees, who have been “fighting for their right” for 10 years, have expressed anger and deep frustration at the “injustice” as fellow ex-Air Malta staff members received either € 4,500 or €3,000 for the seven-year period during the company’s rescue plan wage freeze.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Antoine Cassar Mallia said the latest correspondence from the Finance Ministry was that it would not be opening past cases.

Outlining the course of events, dating back to the 2004 rescue plan and cost-cutting measures agreement between Air Malta and various unions, he claimed payments of €4,500 and €3,000 were made to many Air Malta staff following the airline’s third voluntary redundancy scheme in 2011.

According to Cassar Mallia, various former Air Malta employees, aware of the payments to others, opened cases against the airline through a board of injustices set up in 2019 to investigate alleged grievances of past and present employees.

Some received the payments and others did not, he said, pointing out that, even among couples, one party had been given the compensation while the other did not.

Others received the amount twice, he said.

Cassar Mallia claimed “no reason” was given as to who would be refunded and why.

The board of injustices wrote letters to some employees saying they were not entitled to receive the compensation and told others they were.

Letters sent last year by the board of injustices, set up within the Tourism Ministry, show that one employee was awarded pro rata compensation of €4,500 on the basis of having worked “eight years from the indicated period of the wage freeze”.

This was in keeping with what was given to others who had worked the entire period, the letter said.

Cassar Mallia’s own letter from the board said his request had already been dealt with and decided through the voluntary retirement scheme, citing the fact that he had terminated his employment with Air Malta though the VRS and was paid all he was owed in accordance with an agreement between the General Workers’ Union and the airline.

The group of 28 ex-employees was formed in July 2020 to demand justice and compensation but Cassar Mallia maintained there were many more in the same predicament who have since come forward.

The group has written to the economy and tourism ministers, with  responsibility being shifted from one to the other, and has also brought the case before Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition leader Bernard Grech.

Last month, in answer to a PQ by MP Mario de Marco on how many employees received the €4,500 compensation, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana stated that only two employees got €4,500 or more and the remainder got less.

On Tuesday, the Nationalist Party pledged some €2 million would be allocated to settle salary and pension “injustices” suffered by former employees of three state entities, including Air Malta.

The opposition has been receiving a steady stream of complaints from former and current state employees who say they were robbed of their pension, ex gratia payments or salary adjustments over the years.  

Neither Air Malta nor the Finance Ministry have replied to Times of Malta’s questions on the case.