The Air Malta pilots' union (ALPA) said on Wednesday that none of its members had voted in favour of what the airline had described as its 'final proposal' in an ongoing dispute which has seen 69 pilots sacked.

The airline late on Tuesday said its proposal would have been the sacked pilots reinstated on half pay while current pilots would have had to take a 20% pay cut.

All pilots would have seen their basic pay increase to 90% in April 2022 and revert to full basic pay in April 2023.  Pilots also had to forfeit their retirement scheme and other privileges including chauffeured transport for work.

ALPA said the vote by its members was taken after consulting those made redundant. The airline's proposals were rejected by 96% of the votes cast, with no votes in favour.

"This result reflects the general and overarching sentiment of the pilot community that, over the past months, Air Malta has persistently negotiated in bad faith and has taken advantage of the current circumstances in an attempt at forcing the association’s hand to renounce core rights deriving from its members’ freedom of association," the union said.

It said the current industrial unrest was also characterised by insults by the members of Air Malta’s senior management team throughout the negotiations.

It observed that the airline's offer was divisive and discriminated between the conditions of employment offered to employees who were retained in employment and those whose employment was unjustly terminated.

The union said it had proposed a 50% pay-cut across the board, which would have done away with such unjust difference in treatment, while also keeping in line with the company’s financial projections.

Furthermore, the airline had had repeatedly stressed that an agreement was dependent on ALPA’s renunciation to the rights contained in the agreement entered into with the government in January 2018 (the retirement scheme).

The union said it was perplexed by the fact that, whereas the government had provided financial assistance to businesses and employees negatively affected by the pandemic, it has failed in its duty to safeguard the employment of long-serving workers who have dedicated the best part of their lives to the national airline.

"The Government of Malta, as the main shareholder of the national airline, has, therefore, also sanctioned the strategic use of negotiation tactics which run counter to core European and democratic values in an attempt at trampling on employee rights," the union said.