Mr Justice Silvio Meli today rejected an injunction filed by Air Malta against airline pilots, ruling that the national carrier cannot stop the union from taking industrial action.
In a court ruling this morning, the judge said the company had no right to stop a union from exercising its legitimate right to take industrial action, including a strike, as it fought to defend the interests of its members. This right to take industrial action is guaranteed by the Constitution.
In a reply, the government said it will continue to ensure that no-one abuses of "rights" to blackmail the government.
The airline and the union are at loggerheads over a new collective agreement to replace the one that expired at the end of the year.
The Airline Pilots Association has pledged that it will not be grounding any Air Malta flights as part of any possible industrial action over their collective agreement dispute. The union is howevert considering ordering pilots to delay flights.
Mr Justice Meli said the union's right to order industrial action cannot be influenced by the airline's financial situation, especially since the pilots were not to blame for such a situation.
A worker's right to take action, via his union, cannot be suspended pending talks between a company and a union, the judge ruled.
The airline had argued that industrial action could jeopardise the airline's future and have a negative impact on talks the airline is having with a strategic partner. Air Malta is currently in talks with Alitalia for the latter to purchase 49% of Air Malta's shares.
But Mr Justice Meli stated that the airline had failed to prove that the injunction was required to protect any of its rights.
Mr Justice Meli called on the parties to act in the best interests of the common good.
In a statement, the FORUM Unions Maltin said is satisfied that justice has prevailed. Industrial action is a right that is guaranteed by the Constitution and attempts to preclude unions from such rights is a serious concern in today’s democracy. FORUM said it hoped that in Malta there will be no further attempts to hinder the unions’ right of industrial action in the future.
Addressing journalists soon after the court ruling, ALPA lawyer Edward Gatt (photo) said that the association will stick to its declaration that it will not be grounding any flights in any industrial action it decides to take.
Asked about ALPA's next step, Dr Gatt said the association now awaits Air Malta to again initiate talks and be flexible. By fexible, he meant that Air Malta should say what their business plan will be.
In its statement, the government said that it respects the ruling, saying that the court gave importance to the fact that Air Malta pilots should be prudent in their action, also noting the pilots' pledge not to cancel flights because of their dispute with the airline.
The government appealed to pilots to be responsible, and said it will continue ti take decisions in the best interests of the workers, the carrier and the tourism industry.
The government said it wants to ensure one and all that it will continue to do its best not to allow anyone from abusing rights to blackmail the government.
In its own statement, Air Malta said today it will continue working to safeguard its interests, those of its loyal workforce, tourism stakeholders and the country in general.
The airline added that it respects today’s court decision to its application for a prohibitory injunction against ALPA, the pilots’ union.
Air Malta said it noted the ruling by Judge Silvio Melli whereby he stated that the two parties should not rely solely on the cardinal virtues of prudence and fortitude that are prevailing at this time, but if they really want the common good they should also act with temperance and justice.
Air Malta was and will continue to be open to discussions with ALPA on the way forward.
Video: Jonathan Borg