Air Malta pilots each want an increase of €50,000 in their take-home pay as they resort to industrial action, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
The new financial package demanded by the Airline Pilots Association would see the airline’s expenditure on pilot wages alone increase by €6 million, according to industry sources.
The demands would “cripple” the airline, which has failed to return to profitability after a painful and expensive five-year restructuring process, the sources said.
Last week, pilots’ association (Alpa) president Dominic Azzopardi insisted the union was being “very fair”. “We are not asking for exorbitant increases and, even on the basis of what we’re asking for, Air Malta pilots will still remain the lowest-paid pilots in Europe,” he said, refusing to mention the figures listed by the union in its claims.
Air Malta has 122 pilots, who each take home an average of €93,000 per year. The current wage bill equates to some €11 million. They are also entitled to other perks, including a generous lump sum early retirement package that could reach more than €500,000 subject to certain conditions being met.
The sources said the financial package requested by Air Malta pilots would put them almost at par with their counterparts at Alitalia. The Italian airline is in talks with the government to acquire a 49 per cent stake in Air Malta.
However, the sources noted that comparisons with Alitalia made little sense. “Air Malta pilots do not have long haul flights and overnight stays abroad, unlike Alitalia pilots,” they said.
Pilots have, since last Sunday, gone to work without wearing their caps and jackets to protest delays in finalising a new collective agreement. The old one expired six months ago.
Sources said that while talks with Alitalia are ongoing, the management has adopted a go-slow approach in negotiations over expired collective agreements with the four trade unions represented at Air Malta.
However, Alpa has warned it could escalate the industrial action, including delaying flights or suspending the service altogether in the summer months, unless its claims for better conditions are met.
After a meeting for members last Wednesday, the union said pilots would continue to observe the dress-down directive but no further action would be taken until the next meeting with management, scheduled for July 18.
Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis has branded the threat of industrial action as “dangerous” since it could cause financial harm to the airline and damage the tourism industry.
It is believed the airline is not prepared to accept the pilots’ demands. Dr Zammit Lewis and Air Malta have refused to divulge the extent of the financial demands made by the pilots, with the Tourism Minister calling for “common sense” to prevail.
Attempts to contact Captain Azzopardi were unsuccessful.
ALPA REACTION
In a reaction late this morning Alpa said it was denying the above claims, saying the article quoted factually incorrect figures, including the pilot count, thus misleading the general public with incorrect data.
It said it would soon be attending a scheduled meeting with Air Malta, and thus has no further comments to make until then.
It did not say how the figures quoted by the newspaper are incorrect.
The newspaper stands by its story.