The fourth in a series of collective agreements for Air Malta staff was signed this evening between the airline and the General Workers Union.
This is the latest deal struck between the airline and a union after similar collective agreements were signed with cabin crew, engineers and ground handling representatives at the end of last year. The agreement is for all staff at every level.
Talks between Air Malta and its pilots are still ongoing. A deadline to have all agreements signed by the end of last year set by Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi had to be pushed forward as a result.
Addressing the press ahead of the signing, Air Malta chairman Charles Mangion welcomed the agreement, saying this was possible because both sides were willing to compromise.
“As chairman, I want to make sure that we follow agreements but also that there is commitment from workers and complete loyalty to reach commercial objectives.
"We are all there to make the company succeed. We owe it not just to the company but to ourselves, workers’ families as well as the country and the tax payer. I am convinced that now that we have reached another milestone for the next five years the company will continue to move forward," Dr Mangion said.
GWU secretary general Josef Bugeja hailed the agreement a success, pointing out that 88 per cent of members had voted in its favour. He said that while negotiations had not always been easy, he was satisified with the outcome as workers now had a clear picture of what the future held.
On his part, Dr Mizzi said it was essential for the airline to have such agreements for everyone to learn "the rules of the game" enabling the focus to shift entirely on increasing routes and filling all flights.
On the negotiations with Alpa, Dr Mizzi said that the pilots had been given a final offer that was fair and that also included assurances that promotions were in the pipeline. He insisted that the ball was now in the pilots' court, adding he hoped "common sense will prevail".
Asked about a fresh deadline for the pilots, Dr Mizzi did not give a specific timeline but said he hoped Alpa would take up the offer as soon as possible and added that with all responsibility "the airline needed to plan ahead for any eventuality".