Negotiations between Air Malta and the unions have yet to begin, the General Workers’ Union (GWU) secretary general Josef Bugeja said today.

Last week the government announced that Alitalia is interested in buying a 49 per cent stake in the beleaguered airline.

Answering questions during a press conference today, Mr Bugeja said that the GWU’s red line in eventual negotiations would be that no redundancies would be accepted.

Kevin Bonello, speaking on behalf of the forum of Maltese unions, said at this point the only positive is that the uncertainty for the workers had gone away.
He expressed his hope that Air Malta’s workers would have a better future in store for them.

Air Malta has struggled to keep its head above water in recent years, with the government first intervening to keep it solvent in 2010 and the EU subsequently approving €130 million in state aid on the condition the airline was restructured.

Although in the last three years the restructuring exercise veered substantially
from its original targets, the airline was aiming to end the last financial year with a loss of just €4 million.

The government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Alitalia which would serve as the basis for further negotiations for an eventual 49 per cent shareholding.