Air Malta workers overwhelmingly back rescue plan 'amid threats and pressure'

92% of the members of the GWU who are employed by Air Malta have backed the airline's rescue plan, the union announced this afternoon.

The vote was held yesterday after Air Malta last week said its talks with the union had reached an impasse. The plan includes early retirement schemes and changes to work practices.

The GWU in a strongly-worded statement said this had not been an easy decision, and the workers had been 'under pressure and threats' from the prime minister, the minister of finance and the airline, all of whom had warned that should the workers vote against, the airline would resort to forced redundancies.

It had also been claimed that the airline would resort to outsourcing and the government  might even dissolve the company, the GWU said.

During yesterday's meeting, the workers were 'reminded'  that the prime minister before the last election had sent them a personalised letter promising job security.

GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb told the workers that the union would continue to work for them, whatever the outcome of the vote. He said the union was prepared to declare an industrial dispute should the workers vote against.

"The GWU understands and recognised the concerns of the workers, who had to take such an important decision about their future in a climate of threats and pressures by the government and the management of Air Malta," the union said.

The vote showed, it added, that it was the workers who wanted to save Air Malta, and not those who had intimidated and threatened them.