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FROM PAGE 1 e airline will also make 139 cabin crew on indefinite con- tracts redundant, and stop 145 cabin crew on fixed-term con- tracts. Pilots were refusing to accede to the pay cut, claiming their salaries had already been cut by 30% due to reduced flying hours affecting their perfor- mance-based pay. "Reducing our salaries will not solve any- thing for the airline. Manage- ment should be cutting down on third-party commitments... we should discuss airline leases. We want the satisfaction that we can be partners at the same table to discuss the airline's restructuring if we are to endure wage cuts," ALPA spokesperson Dominic Azzopardi told MaltaToday last week. Pilots' average gross salaries are €140,000 for captains, and €80,000 for first officers. Even without flying, pilots are left with substantial salaries that do not reflect the state of the shut- tered airline right now. e effects of the redundancies will be radical for the airline, due to legal obligations safeguarding pilots' salaries in generous col- lective agreements they negoti- ated in the last years. Dominic Azzopardi told e Times he was left speechless at the decision. "Employees are the ones who will be bearing the brunt of the situation by the looks of it." In a statement, Air Malta CEO Clifford Chetcuti said the COV- ID-19 crisis had cut down oper- ations to a mere two flights per day, as opposed to the scheduled average of 20 daily flights. "But the extraordinary amount of cancellations, and therefore re- imbursements, together with the obligation to continue servicing fixed costs, such as aircraft lease payments, have led the compa- ny to necessitate mitigation of costs, including payroll costs." e airline is currently servic- ing the country to fly in Maltese citizens stranded abroad, as well as bringing in crucial cargo, es- sential medical equipment and supplies. Chetcuti said neither ALPA nor the UCC had accepted their offers for a €1,200 pay to retain all employees. "As a result, the company regrettably had to an- nounce to its workforce that a number of employees falling under the collective agreement signed with the UCC and ALPA will be made redundant due to the current circumstances and the failure to reach agreement with the same unions on cost mitigation measures." Air Malta currently employes 333 employees who fall under the collective agreement signed with the Union of Cabin Crew. Of these, 188 are on an indefinite term contract, while 145 are on a fixed term contract. Employees on a fixed-term contract have already been notified that their employment will not be extend- ed following the expiry of its cur- rent term. "e employees retained will be sufficient for Air Malta to continue operating at current levels which are expected to be the case for a number of months," Chetcuti said. He also said Air Malta's top management had accepted a "significant pay cut" in salaries together with the removal of al- lowances and perks. ALPA statement In a statement, ALPA claimed it had not refused the Air Malta proposals. "e burden of the current sit- uation must be borne equally by all employees from the very top to the bottom. ALPA is willing to carry its fair share of the bur- den, after ensuring that the pro- cess of meaningful and effec- tive consultation has been duly carried out. Air Malta resorted to informing the DIER about redundancies without effec- tively exploring other possible avenues and instead present- ing ALPA with a 'fait accompli'. Airlines around the globe held meaningful consultations with their pilot associations which resulted in agreements being reached amicably," the union said. ALPA also accused CEO Clif- ford Chetcutu of not telling the workforce up front about what they said was his €300,000 sala- ry and perks. e union also requested clar- ity on how Air Malta is honour- ing other third-party contracts, such as aircraft leasing, and to follow up on ALPA's proposals intended to cushion the nega- tive impact on all employees' financial commitments. Cabin crew dispute A number of cabin crew em- ployees on definite contracts had previously instructed a lawyer to inform the that they are in partial agreement with the reduced salary, claiming the union was resisting the pay cut because staff on indefinite contracts had better salaries of some €2,600 a month. Definite contract employees were pre- viously paid a €1,500 basic sal- ary, topped up according to the number of hours they worked. e airline wanted them to utilise their paid vacation car- ried forward from 2019, and for all 2020; work reduced hours which will reduce their salaries by around 40-80%; and then go on forced unpaid leave, to be called in to work only on an 'as needed' basis, being remunerat- ed for hours effectively worked. e Association of Airline Engineers has accepted a basic salary offer of €1,200 after a vote endorsed by 90% of the union's members. 09.04.2020 4 NEWS SCOOTER 001 SHARING THE PRESENT, SO WE CAN BUILD A BETTER FUTURE. One app. Over 450 shared vehicles. Pay per minute, per hour or per day. goto.com.mt/download * Rate per minute for Scooter trips on the GoTo Business Plan. Terms and Conditions apply. €1.50 PAGE 2 PAGE 5 Silvio Schembri apologises for 'unfortunate' foreign workers comments Banking customers offered home loan moratorium due to Covid-19 THURSDAY 19 MARCH 2020 • ISSUE 50 WWW.BUSINESSTODAY.COM.MT DAVID HUDSON A rescue package worth €1.8 bil- lion has been unveiled to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the economy. PAGE 3 PAGE 2 Editorial PAGE 9 RIDING OUT THE STORM AND SAVING JOBS Coronavirus Government announces €1.8b rescue package to mitigate crisis Robert Abela BOV registers pre-tax profit of €89.2m • Government to pay companies €350 per employee on quarantine leave • Businesses ordered to shut down temporarily, will receive two days of assistance per week per employee Id-dinja dieħla f'riċessjoni? U Malta? www.illum.com.mt ARA PAĠNI 12 u 13 €1.25 IL-ĦADD 22 TA' MARZU 2020 • NRU 701 'Il-Gvern huwa rrassenjat li se nitilfu x-xogħol. Mentri aħna rridu nsalvawh' 'ROBERT GĦINNA QABEL IKUN TARD WISQ' Il-GWU, l-MHRA, il-GRTU, il-FATTA u l-UĦM mal-ILLUM iwissu li jekk il-Gvern mhux se jħabbar miżuri ġodda se jibdew jingħalqu n-negozji u jintilfu l-impjiegi, speċjalment fit-turiżmu, fir-ristoranti u d-divertiment! ARA PAĠNI 4 u 5 PAĠNI 10 u 11 SUNDAY • 22 MARCH 2020 • ISSUE 1064 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY €1.95 maltatoday This won't work, Robert EDITORIAL MT2 ROBERT Abela's package does not go far enough and will not work. Malta has entered a war which has destabilised the economy and all its workers. Abela cannot be scared of spending and rack- ing up the necessary government debt needed for a national stim- ulus now: the risks of not acting will be greater than what lies ahead in the next months. He must alleviate economic hard- ship during the epidemic to pre- vent lasting damage to the econ- omy by stopping this recession from turning into the next Great Depression. What Malta needs is a form of universal credit for all, to keep aggregate demand up and so that idle workers at home can return straight to work at the end of the crisis and restore the supply chain. STAY IN, STAY SAFE, WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT/COVID19 Our appeal is simple: Maltese businesses must be sustained by keeping workers in a job with a social insurance that sustains their wages CLAUDIO GRECH 'We cannot allow Maltese businesses to fail. We would be failing society' INTERVIEW MT2 Never before has your support of free and independent journalism been so crucial Support us with a subscription or a donation maltatoday.com.mt/maltatodaydigitaledition Pilots' union insists Air Malta should be tackling third-party commitments and aircraft leases, not staff contracts

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