Air Malta cabin crew in industrial action over leave policy

The Union of Cabin Crew has lodged an industrial dispute with Airmalta management over the refusal of ad hoc leave to cabin crew members who work on their days off.

"In order to sustain the flight schedule, cabin crew have become as flexible in their duties as they possibly could without jeopardising safety, which all stakeholders hold sacrosanct," said Noel Mercieca, UCC president.

Cabin crew have been asked to reschedule their rosters innumerable times and have reported for duty on most of their days off. This has resulted in some members of the crew reaching their contractual 12-month flying maximum limit and have been temporarily prohibited from flying.

"Notwithstanding the extra income crew earn when working ‘overtime’, the fact that this has been going on for months on end has been proving to be an issue as ad hoc leave is being refused daily. This should be the exception and not the norm," explained Mercieca.

"One must note that intrinsic to the in-flight safety duties of cabin crew is the need for the same cabin crew to be able to plan their rest adequately in order to report for flights sufficiently rested."

The UCC is demanding that Air Malta finalize a leave policy that it says should have been implemented in 2010. Until an amicable and safe agreement is reached, the UCC is instructing its members to officially refuse to work on their days off.