Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1253597
THE United Nations panel that investigated a helicopter gunship plot hatched by Western military contractors for Libyan renegade Khalifa Haftar, gave short shrift to claims by Maltese arms dealer James Fenech that he was leas- ing his boats out for an oil and gas company. Sources told MaltaToday that the UN panel said in its report that "considering Fenech's known close linkages to private military companies through the auspices of his other business… the Panel considers it unlikely that he found this to be a credible explanation" when he leased out two RHIBs for what turned out to an evacuation mission of 20 merce- naries. Magnum Opus: how UAE companies funded Haftar's helicopter gunship plot 12-13 Air Malta threat to wind down as pilots resist COVID cuts MATTHEW VELLA AIR Malta's pilots are holding out in tough negotiations with management, despite an immi- nent threat to terminate jobs and break up the airline. With the national airline's fleet grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ALPA is the last union to resist a radical pay cut of their take-home pay to just €1,200 a month. But MaltaToday was told by air- line sources that the government could consent to break up Air Malta and transfer operations to a new company. The government has hived off airport slots and intellectual property on the Air Malta brand, in a fall-back plan hatched by former tourism minister Konrad Mizzi to relaunch the company and free it from handsome col- lective agreements with unions. Time could be running out for Air Malta, not least due to Ry- anair cuts in staff as the airline prepares to mount a price offen- sive when Malta International Airport re-opens in July. The airline will only retain staff if there is agreement on salaries and flying hours; management accuses AL- PA of flying less hours than European counterparts as well as enjoying compensa- tion for denied leave. But it was the same Mizzi who signed an agreement with pilots guaranteeing them a job at the same take-home pay they are earning now. That 2018 agreement has now become a major sticking point in discussions between the pilots and the government over redundancies. It gives pilots a guarantee of a job in Malta, valid until the collective agreement expires in 2023 and another is signed. Air Malta wants to slash pi- lots' salaries to €1,200 while it is grounded, or sack most of them amid the airline crisis brought about by COV- ID-19. STAY IN, STAY SAFE, WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT/COVID19 PAGE 5 HERMANN SCHIAVONE 'Never give up...' says Nationalist MP on disastrous polls INTERVIEW •MT2 maltatoday SUNDAY • 31 MAY 2020 • ISSUE 1074 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY PAGE 4 Mercenaries: UN panel sceptical on Fenech €1.95 Are we ready for summer school? Optimism from carers and some Danish lessons PGS 10-11 COSMOPOLITAN MSIDA Foreign workers fuel population growth PG 6 ANALYSIS 14-15 MATTHEW AGIUS A magistrate has thrown out a criminal complaint filed by the NGO Repubblika accusing Prime Minister Robert Abela and AFM commander Jeffrey Curmi, as well as the AFM's P52 crew of sabotaging a migrant vessel. The Maltese government has published the entire 491-page magisterial inquiry by Magis- trate Joe Mifsud into claims that the Maltese army sabo- taged a migrant boat. In a government statement, the Office of the Prime Min- ister said the report threw out allegations of voluntary hom- icide by the Prime Minister, the AFM commander, and the P52 crew. Magistrate throws out migrant homicide complaint PAGE 4