It seems to have become an annual tradition: it’s summer, the temperature soars, tourists flock to Malta and airline pilots threaten to strike.
In 2012, the Airline Pilots Association Malta (Alpa) had managed to conclude a €4.5 million increase for the 2012-2015 collective agreement at a time when the airline was still wallowing in a financial quagmire, which required a €130 million injection by the State and the shedding of hundreds of workers.
In the meantime, only 16 pilots out of 130 moved on and it seems to be universally acknowledged that this is far more than required.
Not only that, but while other staff across the hierarchy at Air Malta tightened their belts, pilots accepted a pay cut of €4,500 over a few years – for which they were reimbursed in full.
The association is not arguing about pay this time. (Over the years it has lobbied for various issues that would have had an impact on the airline, such as the rebranding exercise and its relations with Malta International Airport). This time, Alpa is arguing, among other things, that there is a shortage of pilots and that they have to work an excessive number of their off days. As a result of the shortage, it complains, they have been denied leave in August and September.
What the association is not saying is that part of the problem is that pilots are allowed to swap days, a practice that raises the eyebrows of other airlines, which would never consider allowing such a practice. This means that rosters which are planned to ensure availability could be thrown out of the window by pilots working their off days to accommodate a colleague.
Alpa mentions “crew fatigue”, a phrase meant to generate sympathy but which is more likely to cause needless concern: this is a highly-regulated sector. If pilots are working more hours, or with less downtime than allowed, the airline would be stopped from operating.
This is not to say that their concerns are irrelevant and the fact that key Air Malta staff are not as available as they should be undoubtedly ruffles feathers and allows the issue to escalate.
What exactly do the pilots want?
They would do well to stop and appreciate the situation. First and foremost, Air Malta’s woes are far from over and they should be grateful that they live in a country where forced layoffs are political suicide.
The pilots cannot see their own employment conditions in isolation; they have to appreciate that sacrifices are needed across the board and remember that if the rope were to unravel, all the strands would find themselves without jobs.
Before they complain about cancelled leave, they should take a reality check and consider that there are about 8,000 unemployed pilots in Europe, according to some reports.
While airlines in Asia and the Middle East might be recruiting, clearly there are more than enough applicants for every vacancy. For Maltese pilots, who have the luxury of being able to sleep at home every night, would the lure of a somewhat higher salary be enough to uproot their families and sentence themselves to sleeping in hotels several nights a week?
Everyone at Air Malta that does their job deserves to keep it and no sector has the right to prejudice that by threatening disruption at vital times for the tourism industry – even in situations where executives at the airline could do more.