Air Malta workers have complained about the loss of overtime in the summer months after the airline allocated extra working hours to part-timers as well.
Frustrated full-time workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Times of Malta they could not understand why part-timers engaged on a temporary basis to cover the peak flying season were allocated overtime. They approached this newspaper after Air Malta chairwoman Maria Micallef told the airline’s annual general meeting last month that the engagement of part-timers helped lower the cost base in summer.
Asked whether it made financial sense to pay part-timers overtime, an Air Malta spokesman said the airline made “moderate” cost savings. He explained that part-timers were paid equivalent to full-timers according to the different grades and categories agreed with the unions.
Wages within each grade are based on an incremental scale. Air Malta employed new recruits at the lowest scale of the grade, which meant part-timers had a lower overtime rate, the spokesman added. “Overtime is distributed across resources available without distinction, immaterial whether these are full or part time. The fact that the company is opting to have new recruits coming in at the lowest scale of the grade drops the employee cost base,” he said.
Air Malta confirmed it engaged 117 part-timers during the summer months, giving it “flexibility” to cover the peak travel season. “The cost saving is moderate but Air Malta has an obligation to explore all options that keep costs to a minimum,” the spokesman said.
Part-timers were engaged as cockpit crew, cabin crew, clerks and airport handlers. Figures supplied by the airline showed that 68 part-timers were engaged in May, another 27 in June and 22 in July. No part-timers were employed in August and September.
The airline said the average contract duration was six months and termination of contracts varied, depending on the role and requirements.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com