Union says Selmun Palace redundancies not an option

Contacted by MaltaToday, General Workers’ Union Hospitality & Foods section head Josef Bugeja said that the GWU could not accept the position adopted by government and Air Malta management that Selmun Palace Hotel is a “failed company”.

“They told us that the tendering process would be issued internationally, that Selmun Palace Hotel is a failed company, and that it would be making its workers redundant,” Bugeja said. “We obviously did not accept and told government to find a new solution.”

Bugeja said other alternatives exist. “We are in contact with companies interested in buying Selmun Palace Hotel as a company – they were only waiting for the tendering to begin.”

Bugeja said the GWU was informed of the meeting between Air Malta and Selmun employees the day before, and immediately issued a directive to not attend the meeting. “I can confirm that no employees attended,” he said.

He argued that Air Malta had no business meeting employees to talk to them about the redundancies when, according to the relevant legal notices, redundancy procedures require a 30-day-peroid during which they are discussed first by the relevant company, employee representatives, and the Director of Employment and Industrial Relations.

“Air Malta claimed that the meeting was intended only to inform the employees, but Air Malta had months during which to inform the employees, but saw it fit to do so even now,” Bugeja said.

Bugeja said that in the months leading up to the surprise redundancy announcement, “we were always constantly informed that the tender would be coming out the next week, or the next day.”

However, he said the government had first said that the Selmun Palace Hotel would be sold through the Lands Department, and then suddenly changed track and said the sale would take place through Air Malta. “We had been asking government to retrain workers and transfer the business, since it was going to sell the company, but government said it did not want to create a precedent.”

He said the GWU is now expecting Noel Vella (Director of Employment and Industrial Relations) to meet to discuss the redundancies. “There are two offers by foreign companies and we will see to it that Air Malta meets with them to discuss the offers,” Bugeja said.

Reacting to news of the redundancy of 58 workers, Labour MP Gavin Gulia said that appointments at top management in Air Malta had taken place without any transparency and accountability. "Was it a decision taken by the board of directors or the new management at the airline?" he asked.

He also asked whether the termination of the Selmun workforce was part of Air Malta's restructuring programme, whether they will be offerred alternative employment or early retirement, and what will the government be doing to safeguard the future of these 58 families.