Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1478813
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 SEPTEMBER 2022 NEWS Government may 'buy out' expensive clause that sees Air Malta pilots receiving salary after leaving KARL AZZOPARDI AIR Malta is forking out thousands in payments to pilots who retire in line with a collective agreement clause that govern- ment may 'buy out'. The collective agreement clause states that individuals aged 55 or more, who have been pilots with the national airline for more than 25 years, would be paid two-thirds of their salary each month un- til they retire. Industry sources have told MaltaToday the clause allowing pilots to be paid two- thirds of their salary, while not actually working, is costing the airline "a lot of money". "The airline cannot continue to fork out this amount of money, it's just not feasi- ble, and something has to be done," they said. There have been talks between the air- line and the pilots' union in a bid to have this clause removed with sources saying that the government is even considering "buying it out". Both sides held discussions last week, but no final decision has been taken. Ne- gotiations are ongoing. Air Malta is passing through a painful re- structuring process as government seeks the European Commission's green light to shore up the airline. In January, Finance Minister Clyde Caru- ana had announced a voluntary employee transfer scheme in a bid to cut Air Malta's workforce by half and save €15 million per year in wages. However, this process has stalled and government pushed back the deadline for Air Malta's employee transfer scheme to the end of the year, while also introducing a generous voluntary redundancy and ear- ly retirement scheme. Pilots were excluded from this latest ex- ercise since Air Malta had sacked 69 pilots in the summer of 2020 after talks with the Airline Pilots Association broke down. The move came after a protracted stand- off between the airline's management and pilots after the latter refused to accept a social wage of €1,200 per month in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Caruana has said that the restructuring process will involve renegotiating all col- lective agreements to give the airline more flexibility. Following a meeting on Budget 2023 with the social partners last week, Caru- ana told reporters that his plans to make Air Malta sustainable will cost govern- ment "many more millions." Pressed on how much the process will cost the taxpayer, he said he cannot give an exact figure, because it's an ongoing re- structuring process. He blamed collective agreements which "do not make any commercial sense," reiterating that "in order to get Air Mal- ta back on its feet I need to spend many more millions." Existing collective agreements were con- cluded in 2018 and expire next year. MaltaToday reached out to ALPA but the calls were not returned. THE Malta Chamber of Com- merce proposed a point system at the Planning Authority, which would require applications to obtain a minimum pass mark before being processed further. The proposal forms part of recommendations for the 2023 budget. The Chamber advocated for a national architecture policy that incorporates aesthetics and landscape, to incentivise good spatial planning in Malta. It said that the policy should include support for aesthetical- ly qualitative and sustainable projects and a set of minimum standards for all new buildings. "Steer away from the piecemeal speculative market of pencil de- velopments and promote quali- tative larger scale lifestyle devel- opments addressed in a holistic urban context," the Chamber said. It also proposed that a carrying capacity study of Malta's land environment is undertaken, that takes into account the built and natural environment. For the regeneration of Mal- ta's urban areas, the Chamber promoted tailor-made fiscal incentives for private owners of scheduled properties, going beyond the current limits of "Ir- restawra Darek". It advocated for minimum en- ergy performance criteria for buildings to be rented or sold but also for renovation schemes that target less efficient build- ings with the potential to achieve a good energy efficiency rating. The Chamber also said that compliance certificates should be replaced by a building log- book that reflects the structural and fabric history of the build- ing. Mandatory garbage rooms for new apartment blocks The Chamber warned that the significant amounts of money earmarked by the government for waste management risk were not having the intended effects. As a solution, it proposed pri- vate waste facilities, saying the material recycling facility should be entirely owned by the private industry or at least owned by the government and operated pri- vately. It added that in order to im- prove waste management, gar- bage collection solutions should be mandatory for all new devel- opments of multiple units, such as dedicated garbage rooms. "This should be a requirement across the board for all new ap- plications with the dimensions of garbage rooms relative to the size of building." The Chamber also suggested the introduction of a garbage bag barcode system to regularise householders who do not sort their garbage correctly. It stated that the Beverage Con- tainer Refund Scheme should be implemented immediately and that materials earmarked for export should be first offered to local manufacturers. "Construction and demolition (C&D) waste is considered the heaviest and most voluminous waste stream generated in the Maltese Islands, amounting to over 1.5 million tonnes of waste generated annually," the Cham- ber said. As a solution, it proposed the implementation of a new regu- latory framework for such waste whilst promoting a transition to a more circular economy. The Chamber also advocated for the licensing of building and road contractors with possible tax credits offered to workers for their upskilling. It said that construction waste should be properly identified and promoted dismantling in- stead of the demolishing of buildings. The Chamber said the government should invest in re- cycling facilities and depots for construction waste and incen- tivise the use of recycled build- ing materials. It also proposed fiscal incen- tives for property buyers or renovators to align with energy performance obligations and a reduction of the final withhold- ing tax from 8% to 4% for devel- opers that invested in sustaina- ble construction materials. Mandatory garbage rooms for new blocks, point system at Planning Authority