Government refuses to disclose KM Malta pilots and cabin crew contracts

Aqra bil-Malti.

The contracts KM Malta Airlines signed with pilots and cabin crew are to remain a secret as the government has refused a Freedom of Information request for transparency.

The reply refusing to disclose the information referred to “commercial interests” and “data protection”. The government went further, saying the salary criteria are not considered to fall under the definition of ’a document’ as provided in Article 2 of Cap. 496.

The Shift has been contesting Freedom of Information denials that led to court judgements saying the government’s definition of “a document” did not apply.

The government has completely ignored the court’s rulings, and different ministries have kept giving the same reply. And this was after the ministry asked for an extension to provide answers to questions.

The Shift asked for all KM Malta Airlines and government contracts with pilots and cabin crew working for KM Malta Airlines, including but not limited to employment contracts.

The Shift also asked for the disclosure of the salary criteria for KM Malta Airlines employees.

Meanwhile, KM Malta Airlines, wholly owned by the government, has not recognised any unions that used to represent Air Malta employees, and no collective agreement exists.

The Shift reported that Air Malta pilots and crew moved to the ‘new’ airline on the condition that they signed legal waivers prohibiting them from seeking legal action to claim their rights.

The waivers were signed alongside new employment contracts with KM Malta, introducing different working conditions to those at Air Malta.

The move has been shrouded in a wall of silence from all concerned, as questions have been raised about the new airline’s operations.

Pilots and cabin crew who worked with the now-shuttered airline could apply for work at the new airline under different conditions, as contracts would not be automatically transferred.

These agreements would require them to renounce existing legal cases, accept settlement offers, and sign legal waivers, preventing them from suing the former and new airline.

A secret side agreement signed by the pilots in 2018 was a sticking point in the case. The agreement granted the pilots ‘job guarantees’ by the government under the same conditions they enjoyed at the time.

A number of Air Malta pilots dropped out of an ongoing court case against Prime Minister Robert Abela days ahead of the airline’s final flight, indicating out-of-court settlements have been reached.

It means more taxpayer money was dished out to implement a secret agreement reached with former minister Konrad Mizzi and Robert Abela, who acted as the government’s lawyer at the time.