Air Malta had denied claims by Labour spokesmen Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and Justyne Caruana that  its employees are being prejudiced because they are
working on reduced hours.

The airline said it fully supports family friendly measures and a number of staff benefit from these schemes, that include tele-working, flexible and reduced hours.

"Irrespective of the restructuring process currently underway at the airline, family friendly measures will continue to be made available for employees to tend to their family’s needs," the airline said.

"Recent restructuring agreements with the unions further embed Air Malta’s commitment to reduced hours working options and flexible rosters."

The airline stated that as recently as this week it had appointed several staff members on reduced hours to new positions within the company which were
made available in the new Air Malta organisational structure.

In the case of staff leaving the organisation, Air Malta had gone beyond its obligations and its collective agreement terms by recognising extended periods of absence on maternity leave and unpaid child-care leave when calculating termination benefits.

"For staff on reduced hours there is absolutely no discrimination against them in applications for vacant positions or in the calculation of payments and years of service under the redundancy or early retirement schemes," the company said.