Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1260266
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 17 JUNE 2020 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 MaltaToday reached out to Cardona but no reply was forthcoming. Cardona has described the allegations as "lies". It was middleman Melvin Theuma and Yorgen Fenech business associate Johann Cremona, who testified that Fenech had told them of Cardona's in- volvement in the murder. Cardona was not appointed to Cabinet by Abela last Janu- ary, and the former economy minister resigned from parlia- ment last April. However, Cardona retained his post as deputy leader for party affairs. Sources within the party said Abela cannot remove the dep- uty leader, which means that a showdown will be necessary if Cardona continues to resist calls for his resignation. The PL statute says that deputy leaders get confirmed or removed by the general conference after a general election. Although there is no specif- ic manner by which a deputy leader can be removed, sourc- es said that a vote of no con- fidence would have to be tak- en in the general conference, a prospect many in the party would want to avoid. On Sunday, Cardona told The Malta Independent that he was not comfortable com- menting on names popping during the course of court proceedings. "I am sure many names will pop sooner or later. So my advice on those hinting on name popping is better wait," Cardona was quoted saying. Abela had on the same day spoken of his certainty that Cardona would do the right thing. However, on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said that he spoke to Cardona and asked him to resign. MALTA'S pilots union ALPA has claimed a decision taken by Air Malta manage- ment team to make pilots redundant and demote a substantial number of captains to flight officers was taken without com- missioning a safety risk assessment as required by Transport Malta's Civil Avi- ation Directorate. With Air Malta making 69 pilots redun- dant after ALPA refused to consent to radical pay cuts across the board due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline had to retain its most senior staff – all cap- tains – and 'demote' a portion of them to flight officers. This will force Air Malta to make cap- tains 're-train' as flight officers during simulation exercises for the aircraft they will fly. ALPA now say this has given rise to a "state of illegality leading to newly-de- moted pilots being pulled off rosters." "Accordingly, Air Malta may only pres- ently deploy around 30 pilots to operate upcoming flights. The legal responsibility for such irregularity, as well as the con- sequences stemming therefrom, will have to be borne by the CEO of the Company, Clifford Chetcuti," ALPA said. ALPA is attempting to stop Air Malta making its pilots redundant after a final decision was taken following unsuccess- ful negotiations with a prohibitory in- junction in court. "Air Malta's lawyer Dr Galea Caval- lazzi made it very clear in court that the company would not meet ALPA. Whist reaffirming that the association is open to the possibility of meetings being held, it should be borne in mind that the ter- mination of employment of 69 pilots, as well as the demotions in question, were communicated directly to our members, despite discussions still being underway and despite the executive committee hav- ing received specific assurances that this would not happen. These redundancies and demotions have earned Air Malta the top spot in the European hall of shame." Air Malta reaction Air Malta has strongly denied ALPA's comments, insisting risk assessments have been conducted and will continue to be carried out as the situation evolves. "Air Malta fails to understand ALPA's ra- tionale, whereby it seems to be persistently doing its utmost to damage the Airline's good safety reputation at a time when the industry requires all stakeholders to group together to navigate through this unprece- dented storm," the statement read. It also said that it has continued to do its utmost to avoid redundancies during the pandemic. "However, for jobs to be secure whilst safeguarding the company's viability, compromise and goodwill from all staff members is required." The airline said it remains open to dis- cussions "in good faith", stating it looks to reach an agreement which secures sustainability and future viability of the company. After redundancies, Air Malta must demote captains to flight officers Having made all its flight officers redundant, Air Malta must now demote captains to fill the role Is Chris Cardona refusing to go? Chris Cardona (centre) celebrating with newly- appointed Labour Party leader Robert Abela in January