Nationalist Party headquarters. Photo: Matthew MirabelliNationalist Party employees are to receive their April salaries in mid-May, the management has told them, as outgoing leader Lawrence Gonzi assured them the financial situation would be tackled immediately by the new administration.
PN employees told The Sunday Times of Malta that the management called them individually on Thursday to say their April salaries would be paid in a staggered fashion halfway through May.
The phone calls were made on the same day that a story appeared in Times of Malta reporting that April was the second consecutive month staff had not been paid at the end of the month.
Most employees had received their March salaries in mid-April and the management has said that the same will happen with wages for last month.
PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier has confirmed that the party was still facing cash flow problems and that salary payments would be structured.
The party and its media companies are believed to employ around 150 people.
Staff who spoke to The Sunday Times of Malta said the financial problems the party was facing was the main issue discussed by Dr Gonzi in a staff meeting held at PN headquarters on Friday, in what was technically his last day in the job.
He thanked them for their patience and for understanding the party’s difficult financial situation, for which he apologised, but assured them that this was to be given topmost priority by the new leadership team, including the new general secretary.
He also told them not to worry about getting paid because in the worst case scenario, the party could turn to its assets, such as clubs in village cores.
The employees said they were told that the €120 March government bonus should be paid with the April salary. The overtime payments will be made gradually once the situation improves.