Cabin Crew Union President Noel Mercieca said that, following talks with government, Cabin Crew members jobs have been guaranteed, and so has their current take home pay.

Mr Mercieca explained that the guaranteed take home pay, includes allowances. As for the guaranteed jobs, he was not certain whether these would be jobs as cabin crew, as he does not know how many cabin crew staff the airline would need after the conclusion of the Air Malta – Alitalia talks.  He was pleased with the result of what he called, an agreement on principle, as at the very least workers know they will have work and the same pay.

The agreement was reached after a meeting which started early on Monday afternoon and finished early on Tuesday morning, the Department of Information said.

Those workers who will remain with Air Malta, he said, would be more flexible, in return for higher pay. The details of the aforementioned agreement were not yet discussed, he said, such as the pay rise such workers would receive, etc.

He also said a voluntary retirement scheme will also be offered to the crew. These details, he said, will be discussed later with the government, the airline and the possible new shareholder.

He also said that the collective agreement discussions will begin sometime after August, but he does not have a specific date. “We have not been given the business plan yet,” he said.

The government was represented by Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis during yesterday’s talks, while the Air Malta cabin crew was represented by all members of the union committee.

The agreement “safeguards the government’s interests as the main shareholder of Air Malta, the cabin crew’s interests and the future of both the company and all workers,” the DOI said.

The government thanked the union for the cooperation shown. Minister Zammit Lewis thanked President Emeritus George Abela, Air Malta chairperson Maria Micallef and chief officer HR Roberto Cristiano for their “continuous cooperation and professionalism”.

The union thanked all those who contributed for the agreement to be reached, including its lawyer Ian Spiteri Bailey.

The agreement follows another reached with the Air Malta Pilots Association. While the ALPA saga took many weeks to resolve, with Air Malta even taking the pilots to court in an attempt to prevent any industrial action, the situation between the airline and the cabin crew union seems to have been quickly resolved.

In both instances, some form of accord was found after the unions filed an industrial action.