Closure ‘imminent’ if pilots strike

Air Malta risks losing a lot of money and could stop operating for good if the pilots’ strike goes ahead on Saturday, the company warned in a judicial protest.

In the judicial protest filed by lawyer Andrew Borg Cardona, the company yesterday said any industrial action at this point in time will put all Air Malta jobs on the line “imminently”.

The Airline Pilots’ Association (Alpa) has not yet filed a formal application warning of industrial action even though pilots last week overwhelmingly voted to ground the fleet unless their demands were met. A decision on whether to strike is expected to be taken tomorrow.

In its court application the airline said the threatened strike was illegal because pilots did not have an industrial dispute with the company that warranted such drastic action.

“Alpa’s demands, as reported in the media because there are no formal documents registering the industrial dispute, are such that cannot be accepted by Air Malta,” the company said.

Pilots want the airline to renegotiate third party contracts including those with Malta International Airport before shedding jobs in a restructuring exercise to save the airline. They are also requesting a three-year moratorium on airport charges, which they contend are draining the company.

Air Malta has appointed a management team that is reviewing the company’s top contracts and, according to chief executive officer Peter Davies, negotiations with MIA have already yielded some savings. However, Mr Davies has insisted that calling for a moratorium amounts to state aid, which is not permitted by the EU.

The company claimed Alpa’s actions were not according to industrial law which was intended to protect workers and not threaten their jobs.

If Air Malta went bankrupt the consequences would not only be borne by its employees but the rest of the economy, it said, calling on Alpa to desist from taking or promoting strike action that would disrupt operations.

Meanwhile, the Association of Airline Engineers yesterday said it had not taken a final decision as to whether it would participate in Friday’s protest in Valletta called by the pilots.

The General Workers’ Union and the Union of Cabin Crew have confirmed their participation in the demonstration although they disagree with the strike action proposed by the pilots.

During an extraordinary general meeting held last week, engineers did not authorise their union to take part in the protest because they disagreed with the pilots’ strike action.

However, in a statement yesterday the union said it was “united with all other Air Malta unions” and in “solidarity with all those whose livelihood is threatened”.

“Regarding the planned demonstration, discussions with Forum (a trade union confederation of which engineers, pilots and cabin crew are members) and AAE members are ongoing and, contrary to media reports, no final decision has yet been taken,” the engineers said.

The media reports referred to had quoted union officials saying engineers would not attend the protest march unless circumstances changed.

The engineers’ association said it was in active discussions with Air Malta management on finding solutions to the many problems the company faced. It reiterated that job losses would not solve the company’s problems or make up for bad management decisions in the past.

“Over the years, one-sided commercial contracts have crippled the airline almost out of existence. The association wants to see Air Malta management be proactive and aggressive on renegotiating its commercial contracts and restoring the company to profitability,” the engineers said.

In a statement, the Malta Institute of Management joined a chorus of stakeholders expressing concern about “the big risks” facing Air Malta.

It appealed to all concerned parties to leave no stone unturned, “through flexible attitudes and constructive dialogue” to find “equitable solutions” while respecting human dignity and preserving the economic viability of the company.