The GWU said today that in view of the current alarming financial situation at Air Malta it had proposed at the start of talks on a new collective agreement to freeze current salaries, as long as this applied to everyone.

However the union noted that CEO Joe Cappello had revealed in a newspaper interview that talks concluded with the unions representing the cabin crews, pilots and engineers included financial benefits. The GWU, therefore, expected the same for its members.

The GWU said it had made proposals on worker flexibility and it remained committed to reaching an agreement with the airline as long as the workers lost none of their current working conditions.

Neither was it prepared to give up its calls for an airline commitment not to out-source sections of the company and not to carry out forced redundancies.

The union said it would shoulder its responsibilities, but would not shoulder the burdens imposed by mismanagement.