GWU rattles the sabre over Air Malta restructuring plan

The General Workers’ Union yesterday warned it would not approve Air Malta’s restructuring plan devised by consultants Ernst and Young unless it was discussed and agreed upon prior to implementation.

The union is the second workers’ representative to disapprove of the proposed restructuring plan for the national airline after it was shot down by the pilots’ union, Alpa, on Saturday.

Over the weekend, Alpa said the plans would lead to the destruction of the airline, not its recovery.

The GWU, which sits on the steering committee set up to draw up a scheme to save Air Malta and turn it into a viable company, said it was not prepared to agree to its implementation unless the section that dealt with workers was discussed and approved beforehand.

After going through the report, so far unpublished, the union requested an urgent meeting with the government to raise a number of points, especially with regard to employment levels and the future of the airline workers. It was only after its questions were answered that it would be able to continue informing workers of what was happening. It also said the discussions ought to be held as soon as possible because of the anxiety the uncertainty was causing workers.

“If this does not happen, the GWU will be forced to take all those measures necessary to ensure workers’ rights are defended,” it said.

It accused the government of not being transparent in its discussions on the airline’s future and, as a result, “was not giving enough space for serious and free dialogue which could lead to agreement”. It said the government’s attitude showed it wanted to impose its decisions on unions that were there to represent workers’ interests.

Just like the airline pilots, the GWU could not elaborate on the contents of the restructuring plan because unions were bound by a confidentiality agreement before being given a copy.

The government is expected to shed about half of the national carrier’s 1,200-strong workforce in its mission to rescue the company, which experienced heavy financial losses in recent years.

Late last year, the European Commission gave the government the go-ahead to pump €52 million in emergency aid into the airline as long as a rescue plan was in place.

A spokesman from the Finance Ministry would not comment on the statements saying members of the steering committee had been given a copy of the proposed plan and asked for feedback, which would then be discussed.