No agreement has yet been reached between Air Malta and the airline’s four unions although the company’s chief executive officer has reported “good progress” on talks over voluntary redundancy schemes.
A statement by Air Malta yesterday quoted chief executive officer Peter Davies telling employees in an internal memo that talks with the unions were ongoing and an announcement “could be made in the next few weeks”.
The memo was not circulated to the media.
Air Malta management is holding discussions with the Airline Pilots’ Association, the Association of Airline Engineers, the General Workers’ Union and the Union of Cabin Crew on the restructuring process, including the voluntary redundancy schemes.
The GWU recently said it was not satisfied with the schemes proposed by the airline. According to a confidential draft restructuring report drawn up by Ernst and Young, the government or the airline were to invest about €10 million in the voluntary redundancy schemes.
Mr Davies reported that there were 150 “improvement projects” to be implemented, including negotiations with third parties over contracts the airline had with them. He said good progress was being achieved in discussions with Malta International Airport, the catering supplier and the ICT provider. Air Malta’s contract with MIA was a bone of contention when pilots threatened to strike last month. They had insisted Air Malta renegotiate third party contracts, particularly the one with MIA, to save on costs before making employees redundant.
Mr Davies noted that a number of initiatives were undertaken to exploit the airline’s cargo section.
He informed employees that management completed the planning of the schedules for winter 2011/2012 and next year’s summer and these would be published later this month.
“This exercise is critical in providing the foundations for the restructuring plan and keenly anticipated by sales’ partners including tour operators and travel agents,” Mr Davies said.
The airline has to undergo major restructuring to survive after the government pumped in €52 million last year to prevent the company from going bankrupt. The European Commission allowed the cash injection on condition that a restructuring plan is implemented.
The government submitted the plan in May and the Commission is expected to take until the end of the year to evaluate it.