“I was hired as an apprentice in 2007. I signed a four-year contract in which SR Technics promised to complete my training as an aircraft maintenance technician with an Irish national craft certificate in the trade.

“During the closure of SRT I and my fellow apprentices tried to explore avenues and areas where we could complete our training.

“Now, with major facilities in Stansted and Zurich and 15 other line maintenance stations around Europe, you would think that this company would be able to accommodate and finish its commitments to training apprentices. Wrong.

“SRT made us redundant in April, along with the majority of the hangar workers. Since then we have found ourselves to be in the most distasteful of situations.

“We find ourselves unqualified for most advertised vacancies in the industry and over-qualified for the trainee vacancies.

“Now, apart from this, the question needs to be asked: why did SRT headquarters approve the hiring of apprentices on four-year contracts when they already knew they would be shutting down?

“The way in which this company acted in the last few months of its Dublin operation showed utter contempt for its Irish workforce.

“I would like to let the people of Malta know that this company is not to be trusted.”

Thus wrote a former SRT apprentice to this paper in relation to the story broken in our sister daily that SR Technics closed earlier this year with the loss of over 1,000 jobs. The company paid slightly more than statutory redundancy and also left a deficit of just under e26m in the pension fund.

In doing so, they ignored the recommendations of the Irish Labour Court, which recommended doubling the redundancy payment and fully funding the pension scheme. It is believed that this is the first time ever that a company has ignored the Irish Labour Court’s recommendations.

The reasons behind SR Technics closing down its facility in Dublin were the high cost of operations there and the loss of key clients – two reasons that are not expected to recur in Malta, SR Technics Head of Communications Marco Imboden told The Malta Independent.

Reacting to the coverage given by this newspaper over the last few days to the company’s controversial exit from Dublin, Mr Imboden said that the high cost base in Ireland and the customer situation – not only wages, but the cost of everything in Ireland – made operations there unviable, while the relatively low wages in Malta and other factors attracted the company here.

In addition, in Dublin the company had a number of client airlines and when they began leaving, due to the non-viability of the prices offered, the facility itself became non-viable. In Malta, on the other hand, the company has signed a 10-year agreement with one big company, easyJet.

Meanwhile, a new aircraft maintenance company operating at the former SR Technics site near Dublin Airport has achieved a major coup.

Dublin Aerospace, which secured the bulk of the Swiss-run company’s operations through an investment of e17.5m, has been awarded a key approval certificate by the Irish Aviation Authority.

The European Aviation Safety Agency Part 145 Approval is essential in order that it can operate as an approved aircraft maintenance organisation. It is the latest in a series of international approvals.

Dublin Aerospace is led by Irish aviation executive Drumcondra-born Conor McCarthy, who started his working life as a 16-year-old apprentice electrician with SRT.

He later “honed his skills” by holding senior posts with a number of aviation companies, including Aer Lingus and Ryanair. He is currently a shareholder and director of both Air Asia and vivaAerobus of Mexico.

The new company will initially have a 50-strong workforce but hopes to employ 150 skilled personnel within its first year.

Tanaiste and Enterprise Minister Mary Harney last month welcomed the new company, saying that not only would it lead to the creation of new jobs “but it also strengthens this high-skilled industry in Ireland.”

The company said it has acquired “major assets”, including three ship sets of Boeing 737 new generation landing gears and Boeing 737 classic gears, as well as APU units.

Its hangar can handle three narrow body aircraft and it also offers a wide range of technical training.