Discussions on a new collective agreement between Air Malta and the General Workers' Union were suspended after the airline accused union members of vandalising the cars of two of its managers during their last meeting.

This, together with the airline's refusal to rule out forced redundancies and outsource current practices, prompted the union to walk out, bringing negotiations concerning office and industrial workers to a standstill.

The airline did not go into the merits of the vandalism claims when contacted yesterday but Air Malta sources confirmed that the matter had been raised during the meeting as soon as word reached the management that the cars of two managers who were at the negotiating table had been vandalised.

The union, however, said it was considering taking legal action against the airline.

It also said that if the airline wanted to sustain the good relationship that existed between the two parties, it should make its position about the union's proposals clear.

Meanwhile, although it did not refer to the vandalism, the airline said in a statement that during the negotiations it has always focused on increasing productivity and flexibility in light of its financial situation and the developments taking place in the industry.

It said it had already informed the union during previous meetings that its decision on whether to rule out forced redundancies and outsource current practices depended heavily on whether both parties could reach an agreement on the roster flexibility and increase in productivity.

This is the fourth and final collective agreement on the airline's list as, although discussions were sometimes turbulent, agreements were reached with the three unions representing engineers, pilots and the cabin crews.

Five years ago, a memorandum of understanding ruled out pay rises but also forced resignations, was signed between the airline and the four unions representing its employees. However, it expired two years ago.