Air Malta employees would next month receive payments due to them as agreed in the company’s restructuring plan, the General Workers’ Union said yesterday.

The union said it had struck an agreement with the airline for the workers to receive what they were owed in May.

The agreement provided for workers, represented by the GWU, to be given a three per cent increase in their salaries, backdated to January. Moreover, they would also receive €2,250 with their May pay, which was half a one-off sum they would be getting under the agreement, the union said.

Air Malta’s revenue rose by €3 million in the 11 months to February, signalling a modest improvement that is far short from the €30 million increase in revenue and an equivalent drop in expenditure the airline hopes to achieve in the coming years.

The airline will have to shed about half of its 1,200 employees to become profitable.