Unions representing Air Malta’s pilots and cabin crew are holding intensive talks in a last-ditch attempt to avoid mass redundancies, sources close to the airline said.
Both formal and informal meetings are being held with the aim of reaching a compromise which would see the airline saving money and the employees retaining their jobs in exchange for slashed salaries of €1,200 a month.
With travel severely curtailed due to COVID-19, Air Malta, along with the whole airline industry, faces a bleak future, with sources close to the national airline saying the doldrums could stretch up to two years.
Air Malta employees are represented by four unions. An agreement on the social wage offered has so far been reached with two of them, the General Workers’ Union and the union representing the airline’s engineers. Under this agreement, a review of the situation will take place every 28 days.
Sources said the airline’s management met the cabin crew union on Wednesday and they were inching closer to a deal, which would see members forgo considerable perks in exchange for a U-turn on the airline’s intention to make nearly 300 of them redundant.
Talks with the association representing airline pilots are expected to be held on Friday.
The Department of Employment and Industrial Relations did not allow the airline to cut short the 30-day time window within which to hold meaningful discussions with the employees, as Air Malta had sought to do, sources said.
The airline is planning to lay off four-fifths of its pilots – 108 of them – and 139 of its cabin crew.
It is also planning not to renew the contracts of a further 145 cabin crew over the coming months.
Before the pandemic began, the airline employed 338 cabin crew, including part-timers.
Sources close to the airline say the cabin crew union has informed management that its members are willing to accept the wage being offered.
Talks have also revolved around some of the benefits included in their collective agreement which expires in 2022.
The airline wants cabin crew to forgo considerable perks, such as a level of salary that is paid even if not enough hours are worked.
The sources said the cabin crew were willing to give up this benefit for 2020 as well as for 2021 as a sign they are willing to reach a compromise. This would save the airline more than €600,000.
However, the airline wants the union to sacrifice this benefit completely, until the collective agreement expires and the union is due to discuss this matter internally before the next meeting.
The situation with pilots is different: the relationship between them and the airline’s management has always been rocky and the pilots are refusing to accept the 60 to 90% pay-cut on offer.
Last week, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri accused the pilots’ union of attempting to “hijack” Air Malta.
According to Schembri, some of the pilots were privately willing to accept the basic monthly income on offer but the union wanted more.
Sources say pilots are willing to accept the offer but need some sort of job guarantee after the public health emergency is lifted.
First officers’ salaries range from €50,000 to €80,000, while that of captains is between €90,000 and €140,000, depending on years of service to the airline.
Questions sent to the airline remained unanswered by the time of writing.