GWU underlines its position in Air Malta talks

M.O. Micallef

Jan 5th 2010, 20:20

Of course the GWU is right . I understand that a pilot should be paid more than say a clerk, but when you see the pay pilots get, around 90,000Euros a year, no one should be surprised that the clerk who earns much much less expects a salary rise if the high earner got one. Everyone should know that when we go to buy bread, meat and property we are all asked the same prices. If you are on a 90,000 salary you can get what you want. If you earn around 12000 Euros a year you are poor and that is more than the minimum wage!

C. Farrugia

Jan 5th 2010, 16:28

With the present attitude of the GWU, Air Malta will have to go the same way as Alitalia, Sabena and Swiss Air. It will have to close down under the burden of its debts and then resurrent under different owners with different work practices and different conditions of employement for its emplyees. This with only the core business of flying without the other services such as ground handling which are not in the business of flying.

J.Scicluna

Jan 5th 2010, 15:37

GWU is right on this. It's clerical and industrial members have gone without a wage increase for the past 6years and more...and this in the spirit of assisting the Airline to make a quick turn-around. However, since Air Malta has already signed new collective agreements with the Pilots', Cabin Crew's and Engineers' unions giving them double-digit percentage salary increases, it should do the same with the GWU members.....unless they are children of a lesser God!

Stephen Grech

Jan 5th 2010, 15:33

Here we go again. Round six or what?. Lost count by now.!!!

The only guy to blame is the guy running the show. He chooses the leaders and give them power to run the business. The funny thing about the whole story is that they are never kept responsible for their actions. Instead the top management chooses the easiest target ie the workers, manipulating with the media friends the general public with half truths.

Dear Mr Camilleri, kindly note that a section in Airmalta suffered a three year wage freeze whilst trying to negotiate an expired colective agreement plus giving Airmalta another Lm100 per month for the same period from their own pockets. You do the Maths. Not only, now with a signed new collective agreement KM refuses to abide with what was signed for.

Yet, no past managerial or goverment official stood up for the current state our company is in.
In Maltese there is a saying "Il-Kok jaf x'hemm fil borma", and to my understanding you are not a cook.!!!!

Ivan Abela

Jan 5th 2010, 14:45

What is so wrong in a WORKER's union trying to defend the working conditions of workers!!!! This is the mentality that has been injected over the years by this stale right government that workers cannot fight and stand up for their rights..unlike other countires in Europe...look at France, Italy, Spain...mayhem reigns supreme if an employer in these countries only dares to touch existing workers rights...but in Malta no..this government along with his stooges, media printed and visual ie, have made it appear that whoever stands up for his rights is a hamallu laburist and troublemaker...how I wish that GonziPN would repeat these antics in another democratic EU country..it would not last for an hour!!!

Sarah Galea

Jan 5th 2010, 14:21

For your information Mr.Formosa the cabin crew had an MOU signed already some time ago and they reached a collective agreement which was signed after years of sagrifice and also this collective agreement we had lost some items too so please check things before you write
Sarah

deo micallef

Jan 5th 2010, 14:02

@ A Camilleri
You know like everybody else who did huge blunders at Airmalta like the purchase of the RJ70s and the investment of millions of maltese liri in Azzurra which went bust after eight years or so, so please do not try to blame the current AirMalta financial sitiuation solely on the GWU. Also can the GWU, UHM and the govt please tell us how many unwanted staff (mostly clerks and blue eyed ground staff) were employed with the airline during the last ten years? A similarly sized European airline employs only 50 workers at it`s head office, AirMalta employs hundreds, just go at the head office in luqa and count the number of cars parked in the staff car park!!

A Camilleri

Jan 5th 2010, 13:02

"The union said it would shoulder its responsibilities, but would not shoulder the burdens imposed by mismanagement." Maybe the GWU would like to take over management along the lines of the 'Kunsill tal-haddiema' at the Malta Drydocks, to show how things should be done?

E.J. Formosa

Jan 5th 2010, 11:55

Are the unions representing the cabin crews, pilots and engineers ready to propose to freeze current salaries as the GWU is doing? It's no longer time to be selfish!