No progress in Air Malta-pilots talks
No progress was made during a meeting between Air Malta and the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), held yesterday.
Air Malta and the association met at 9am, in an attempt to resume discussions and find common ground, on recommendation of a judge.
The meeting was agreed upon after Air Malta filed a court injunction against the pilots’ association in an attempt to stop the pilots from taking further industrial action. Talks regarding a new collective agreement - given that the last one expired more than six months ago - have not seen much progress made.
Asked whether the pilots would still intend to hold industrial action if the injunction in court is not upheld, ALPA president Captain Azzopardi said that we would have to wait till the court case concludes.
He explained that Air Malta did not budge from its original position. Air Malta said it needed more time. Captain Azzopardi also said Air Malta did not attempt to come with any counter proposals or anything of the sort. They also did not provide the pilots with any new information.
In a statement issued later, ALPA said that in spite of the impression Air Malta gave that it would be making concrete proposals to unblock the situation, the Air Malta representatives went for the meeting with nothing in hand,
The association said the main issue is not the pilots' salary. The main issue, contrary to what Air Malta is saying, is that pilots do not lose their job or have their working conditions changed to their detriment and that of their passengers' security.
ALPA said it cannot accept that jobs are lost; neither will it accept that, when the airline is sold, pilots are subjected to conditions that are to their detriment and have a negative impact on the safety of passengers.
ALPA recalled that the overall salaries of Air Malta pilots were reduced substantially in the past years because the carrier reduced the number of planes. At the same time, the management continued to receive exorbitant salaries that, in some case, reach €200,000.
Pilots have a right to protect themselves, ALPA said, and they will be doing this when the matter is debated in court on Friday.
Air Malta is worried that industrial action could potentially affect negotiations with Alitalia, and this led to the filing of a court injunction which was provisionally upheld.
While in court last week, Mr Justice Silvio Meli warned both parties of the potential dire consequences of an escalation of the disagreement. Lawyer Aaron Galea Cavallazzi, who appeared for the airline, told the courts that Air Malta's negotiations with Alitalia must be concluded by the end of October for the national airline to keep operating.
Alitalia is attempting to purchase a 49% share in Malta’s national airline, which has been financially struggling. ALPA and Air Malta are also expected to report to the court during the next sitting on 29 July.
According to reports on the Times of Malta, the Air Malta pilots want their salaries to match those of other pilots within the Etihad Group. Etihad owns a share of Alitalia.
Money is not the primary concern of Air Malta pilots in the collective agreement discussions, lawyer Edward Gatt, representing the pilots, previously said. He explained that redundancy issues are the main worry of the association. He also spoke of the reduction in times that the pilots are currently flying, adding that such issues need to be clarified. "We want these issues addressed now"
ALPA had also said that pilots were hurt that Air Malta tried to paint them in a bad light, as though they are workers who only want to work 50 hours a month. "This is absolutely not true. Pilots want to work, and if they are not working enough that is purely because of other decisions taken by Air Malta, such as the reduction in the fleet”.
Meanwhile Air Malta yesterday announced the appointment of Joseph Galea as new Acting CEO as the two-year term of the present CEO Philip Micallef comes to an end.
Joseph Galea has over thirty years’ experience in the travel industry and for the last two years has been Deputy Chief Commercial Officer with Air Malta, following a long stint with MTA as Director International Marketing based in Germany.
After thirty-five years in senior executive roles in Malta and various countries, Philip Micallef will be moving on to the next challenge in his career.
Mr Micallef commented, "My two year term at Air Malta has been very challenging and interesting. Thanks to the commitment and hard work of my management colleagues and all the staff we have managed to exit the EU Restructuring Plan and the airline is final- ly back on the road to profitability. The company is now entering a new and exciting phase of growth and moving closer towards the conclusion of the talks with the strategic partner. I have worked very closely with Joseph for the last two years and the company is in the hands of a person who knows the market and its players extremely well".
In his initial comments Joseph Galea remarked, "It is indeed both an honour and a challenge to take over temporarily the position of CEO as talks with the strategic partner are concluded. This is a most exciting time that gives Air Malta the chance to consolidate its position as the national airline of the Maltese islands and to have the chance to go for structured growth over the next years".
Minister for Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis and Air Malta Chairperson Maria Micallef thanked Philip for his hard work and wished Joseph all the best for his new role.