Cabin crew union prefers talks to strike action

The Union of Cabin Crew said it preferred discussing a solution to a dispute with Air Malta over a delayed flight rather than resorting to the full-blown strike it had warned of.

The forewarning had come after Air Malta said it would be filing a judicial protest against the union and the five cabin crew who refused to operate a Moscow flight on Thursday, causing a 16-hour delay and a €109,000 bill to the airline because they would have exceeded their flying time by three minutes.

The situation caused delays on another two flights too.

Union president David Sargent said it was up to the committee to decide on the possibility of a full-blown strike but he augured that the airline was merely sabre rattling.

The committee will be meeting this morning and Mr Sargent said the union's action would depend on Air Malta's.

"Our aim is to talk things out and to find solutions through discussion. Action does nobody any good, especially workers," he said. He told The Sunday Times that if Air Malta went ahead with the action against the crew it would face "big consequences". No steps have yet been taken against the five cabin crew, Mr Sargent said.

He was collating information on what exactly happened in order to obtain a "clearer picture". "There is more to it than the issue of the three minutes," he said, adding that the issue had a "long history".

Air Malta chairman Lawrence Zammit said the flight captain had offered to cut down flying time to compensate for the delay but this was refused.

Mr Sargent said yesterday he had reports that this was not the case and he was looking into it. But Mr Zammit reiterated that his management had told him so.

"I am hearing the different versions to verify the facts. After all, if the issue ends up in court it is only facts that count," Mr Sargent said.

With regard to the possibility of taking disciplinary action if it were established that the five crew members had acted incorrectly, Mr Zammit said it would be up to the independent disciplinary commissioner to determine that. A whole process, including a board of appeal, would have to take its course.

The case has not yet been referred to the commissioner, Mr Zammit said.