The Airline Pilots Association has today said that it will not be grounding any Air Malta flights as part of any possible industrial action over their collective agreement dispute.
This assurance was made in court, before Magistrate Silvio Meli, who is hearing arguments from both sides in a case where Air Malta has asked for an injunction, preventing the union from taking any industrial action.
Currently, Air Malta is in talks with Alitalia, for the Italian Airline to purchase a 49% stake in Malta's national carrier.
Today's court sitting came after failed discussions last Wednesday, where no progress was made between the two sides. The collective agreement expired last January.
Lawyers representing Air Malta said how the airline has €66 million in accumulated losses and cannot withstand any industrial action. They questioned whether ALPA's actions were in good faith, and were not just meant to hit the company when it is vulnerable.
Dr Edward Gatt on behalf of the Association said that if the court upholds the injunction, it would create a precedent as other employers would use similar arguments to stop workers from taking industrial action.
The pilots stressed that they are unable to wait till the end of talks between Air Malta and Alitalia for their concerns to be addressed, saying there are indications that Alitalia would want a reduction in the workforce, reducing the number of pilots by more than half.
Mr Justice Silvio Meli, concluding the sitting, said a decision will be communicated in due course.
Meanwhile, in comments to The Malta Independent, Minister for Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis said that the door of the Ministry is always open to discuss any difficulties and concerns over the future of the national airline.
He referred to a meeting between the pilots association, Alpa and the management of AirMalta, which was ordered by the court. However this meeting did not result in an agreement.
Minister Zammit Lewis said that the Union has all the right to strike but its action must not be disproportionate. "We want Alpa to be a partner in the future of AirMalta," he added.