Air Malta in third deal with unions

Air Malta has signed a restructuring agreement with the cabin crew union, the third deal of its sort with as many unions representing different categories of employees.

The agreement includes voluntary redundancy and early retirement schemes for the airline’s cabin crew and new working conditions.

The airline is undergoing a restructuring process and has to reduce its workforce by some 500 to become viable after the government bailed out the company to the tune of €52 million in 2010.

Last month similar agreements were signed with the Association of Airline Engineers and the General Workers Union.

The announcement was made by the company and the media was not present for the signing.

It said the deal with the Union of Cabin Crew includes improvements to rosters by increasing crew utilisation, reduced staffing numbers and changes to the duties of cabin crew.

The statement quotes Air Malta Chief Executive Peter Davies saying the agreement was another important step in Air Malta’s restructuring.

“Both the airline and the Union of Cabin Crew have invested a lot of time and effort to get a win-win deal in the interest of the company, staff and the airline’s customers,” Mr Davies said.

He said that customers’ changing expectations necessitated that the levels of service and products on offer should be continuously changed.

“We intend to offer a new Air Malta in-flight experience and have already started working on a number of projects in this regard. This agreement was specifically targeted to increase the flexibility and productivity of our cabin crew and will pave the way for a new in-flight service onboard Air Malta flights.”

Cabin crew union general secretary Richard Caruana was quoted saying that the agreement, reached after “lengthy discussions”, would benefit the company and the union’s members.