Security firm G4S has left its door open to 28 airport security workers it made redundant on Tuesday to return to work if they agree to be deployed elsewhere.

The company’s managing director, Kenneth De Martino, yesterday said that from the outset the company was being “extra sensitive” towards its workers, especially at this time of the year.

He said the company’s doors were open to any of them who wanted to return to work and insisted that the situation had been brought about by some of the workers themselves who refused several options the company gave them to address a seasonal slowdown in work at the airport.

On Tuesday, G4S sent letters to 28 of its staff informing them that they were being made redundant after the failure of talks with the General Workers’ Union and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin.

The company had been in talks with the unions for weeks, discussing its proposal to redeploy some of its security personnel at the airport.

Sources close to both unions told The Times that while they agreed with the company’s approach, they had to go back to their members for their approval before reaching any agreement with the company.

Most of the workers disagreed with being redeployed elsewhere because they were engaged as airport security staff.

Although airport staff are paid more than other security officers, the company offered to keep their salaries and proposed a roster system for 12 weeks whereby they would be deployed to other places where the company has security contracts.

He said the company was faced with “militancy” and “lack of flexibility” and had no option but to issue redundancy letters.

G4S applied the last-in-first-out principle and made 28 workers redundant. The rest of the group staged a strike yesterday and did not report for work at Malta International Airport, with airport staff taking over their duties so as not to disrupt flights.

Mr De Martino said the industrial action taken by workers yesterday was illegal since none of the unions had registered a dispute with the company.

G4S won a contract to provide security at the airport around six months ago. It took over about 45 security officers who were working for the previous contractor.

“Since we have people’s jobs and well-being at heart, we opted to redeploy them elsewhere but, unfortunately, we encountered opposition,” Mr De Martino said.

“Our doors are still open and we will try getting the people back on board if they want to.”

While talks with the unions were under way, the company referred the matter to the Director of Labour who ruled in the company’s favour, appreciating its efforts to retain their employees.