The government is to hold talks with the General Workers' Union and other trade unions on a new voluntary early retirement scheme for all workers at Air Malta.

The plans were welcomed by the GWU at a meeting with Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis.

READ: Air Malta will have to cut jobs, minister says

The talks will be conducted by a government-appointed committee headed by former President George Abela and including Air Malta chairwoman Marisa Micallef. The aim is to reach agreement by June.

The Tourism Ministry also announced that following agreement with the GWU, former workers who left the airline five years ago under another early retirement scheme will be paid the balance of funds owed to them in terms of what was agreed at the time. 

Loss-making Air Malta has been streamlining operations and seeking a strategic partner to ensure its survival in the coming years.  

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