Pilots working to rule

Air Malta pilots have been ordered by their association to work to rule as an industrial dispute with the national carrier "continued to deteriorate".

Pilots, the Airline Pilots Association (Alpa) said, would continue to fully respect their contractual obligations without going beyond the call of duty. It said the directives were issued after 18 months of waiting patiently and without resorting to drastic action. The situation had now deteriorated and industrial action was the only way forward, it said.

The association and the airline had signed a collective agreement in January last year. In view of the precarious financial situation Air Malta had been facing, and in order to help promote economic recovery, the pilots had agreed to forfeit arrears and to delay the commencement of an increase in salaries to April.

However, the association said, Air Malta kept procrastinating when it came to implementing what had been signed and agreed upon, even after a four-month grace period.

It said there were numerous pending disputes, ranging from incorrect rosters to procrastination on reaching an agreement on an annual vacation leave policy. There were also more serious issues such as the airline's refusal to purchase a proper loss of licence insurance for pilots older than 55, the association said.

Air Malta had proposed a Health and Safety Handbook but this had not yet been distributed, it added.

"For the past 18 months, Alpa has continuously proceeded with utmost caution and refrained from resorting to drastic industrial action. But the situation continued to deteriorate," it said.

Ninety-two per cent of members who attended the association's annual general meeting earlier this month expressed themselves in favour of a work-to-rule.