No progress made in Air Malta dispute with pilots' union

No progress has been made in the pay dispute between Air Malta and the pilots’ union, although progress had been made in talks with other unions on the sale of a stake in the airline to Alitalia, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today.

“The government is not trying to stop industrial action but to ensure the action is not disproportionate to the extent that it could cripple or destroy the company,” he said.

Last week a court provisionally upheld an Air Malta request for an injunction to stop the pilots' union from taking industrial action that could jeopardise talks with Alitalia.

“Air Malta cannot give what it does not have. I believe there is a future for Air Malta but we all need to act responsibly,” the prime minister told journalists at a press conference.

The Prime Minister also said that talks with Alitalia over the sale of a 49 per cent stake in Air Malta were still ongoing, and that the government would only accept an offer that was in the interest of the country.

Fielding other questions from journalists, Dr Muscat once again refused to provide a deadline for the completion of the new gas-fired power station.

“Soon you will have not only a deadline but a big event,”...