Air Malta pilots want their salaries to match those of the other pilots within the Etihad Group, the company that has a 49 per cent stake in Alitalia.

Court documents seen by the Times of Malta show how the pitch was made by the Airline Pilots Association president, Domenic Azzopardi, during a meeting with Air Malta management on June 27.

Capt. Azzopardi is recorded saying in the minutes of the meeting that it was “in the general interest” to ensure all pilots within the Etihad Group were paid equally.

Capt. Azzopardi argued this was necessary to “avoid claims that any group is being preferred or attributed more work owing to lower salaries”.

His comment was followed by that of Capt. Chris Agius, another union official, who referred to the higher salaries being paid to Air Berlin pilots.

Former president George Abela, who was brought in by the government to facilitate negotiations, chaired the meeting.

The Etihad Group of the United Arab Emirates has a significant minority stake in Air Berlin.

Alitalia is currently in talks with the government over the acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in Air Malta.

The minutes were submitted in court, where Air Malta is seeking an injunction to prevent pilots from escalating industrial action.

Industry sources told this newspaper comparisons could not be drawn between Air Malta pilots and those of foreign airlines that operated long-haul flights. Also, Air Malta pilots do not have to do overnight stays.

The minutes show that Air Malta CEO Philip Micallef pointed out that the airline was “still in a loss-making situation” and was striving hard to get to break even.

Talks between Air Malta and the four unions over expired collective agreements have been put on hold until a business plan is agreed with Alitalia. This is expected to be concluded by the end of the month.

During the meeting, Dr Abela explained that the business plan with Alitalia had not yet been finalised and a rigid timetable could not be followed.

“Acceleration of talks and concrete proposals depend on the final resolution of the negotiations between the strategic partner and the Maltese government,” Dr Abela was reported to have said.

He also added that, eventually, the deal would require the green light from the European Commission “which could possibly take till end December 2016”.

After the June meeting, Alpa ordered pilots to go to work without their jacket and cap in protest over delays in the conclusion of the collective agreement.

The symbolic industrial action was followed by threats to delay flights, which Air Malta subsequently said could lead to daily losses that would cripple the airline.

The court documents confirm information revealed by this newspaper over the past few weeks: that pilots asked for a 30 per cent increase in basic salary with increments backdated to January 2016.

Pilots also asked for a guaranteed 165 weighted units per month – these are bonus points they obtain for flying and which are translated into money at the end of the month. This was to start on July 1.

The 13 requests put forward by the pilots during the meeting also included demands for leave and sickness to be remunerated at 2.5 weighted units per hour.

The union had asked for captains to be paid €30 for every unit at the low rate and first officers €20. Units paid at a higher rate would see pilots receive €45 and first officers €30 per unit.

Pilots had also shown willingness to accept the airline’s demands to adopt European Aviation Safety Agency regulations as maximum conditions to be implemented at the airline.

Air Malta pilots currently fly an average of 55 hours per month or 660 hours a year, far below the standard set by the EASA. European directives state that crew members cannot serve on flights for more than 900 hours per calendar year and 100 hours in any 28 consecutive days.

The meeting minutes show that Dr Abela adjourned the meeting, in order that the airline could cost Alpa’s proposals and revert with feedback.

However, Capt. Azzopardi repeatedly requested that the company favourably consider Alpa’s demands for 165 weighted units “to avoid disruptions and industrial action”.

Capt. Azzopardi said he was finding it difficult to contain “the pilots’ community discomfort” since their take-home pay was declining year after year.

Air Malta followed up on the meeting with an e-mail, in which it indicated readiness to accept the proposal for a guaranteed minimum of units per month and demanding that no industrial action be taken until negotiations over the collective agreement were finalised.

In a terse reply, Alpa rejected the condition related to industrial action, denied that it had accepted to adopt EASA regulations as a maximum and insisted the guaranteed minimum of units start being calculated from June 1 instead of July 1.

It also registered an industrial dispute that eventually translated into the dress-down directive to pilots that remains in force.

The court injunction started being heard last week, but the presiding judge postponed the case, giving both parties a chance to reach an amicable solution.

Industry sources told this newspaper the demands would add €6 million to the €11 million pilots’ wage bill.

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