Proposals made by the government in connection with voluntary retirement schemes at Air Malta were so generous they surprised even the workers, who now wanted to make the best of it.
“We know the government is in a rush to give the impression that a deal has been struck. However, we will not accept half-baked offers or a situation whereby those of us who stay on will have to forego certain conditions of work to make up for the generous packages offered to those who want to leave,” a senior cabin crew official said.
Sources close to the airline said it was evident the government wanted the Finance Ministry and President Emeritus George Abela, appointed to preside over the talks, to conclude the deals with unions over outstanding collective agreement issues which have been on the back-burner for years.
In the circumstances, the staff unions were raising their demands, aware the administration wanted to conclude immediately, possibly because of Saturday’s election, the sources said.
The more difficult negotiations, being held separately with pilots and cabin crew, are headed by Dr Abela and the permanent secretary at the Finance Ministry, Alfred Camilleri.
Sources close to cabin crew said the government offered members who wanted to retire voluntarily three different packages, with the highest consisting of a €130,000-payout per steward.
However, the proposed packages, still to be approved by the European Commission, which had to ensure they did not involve State aid, were being contested by junior cabin staff who were offered payouts in the region of around €60,000.
Union representatives are known to be insisting on an overall package that includes conditions that will form part of a new collective agreement.
However, the Finance Ministry was resisting this, though the Office of the Prime Minister appeared to be favouring an agreement, the sources added.
On the other hand, talks with the pilots, who already enjoyed generous packages, hit a brick-wall as better offers were being sought, the sources said.
The pilots met at an extraordinary general meeting yesterday and rejected the offers, also giving a free hand to their union to order industrial action if the deal was not improved by the government within 48 hours.
Senior Air Malta officials said the government and the unions were playing “a very dangerous game”, warning that the price would have to be paid soon after the election.
Air Malta has been in financial straits for the past years.
According to a five-year re-structuring plan which ended in March 2016, the airline is meant to be registering a profit.
However, the targets were not met and the company has not even published its accounts, though Air Malta is known to still be in the red.
Questions sent to Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis about the offers remained unanswered at the time of writing.
ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com