Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air cuts 40 cabin crew jobs, talks with union fail

Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air and the General Workers Union (GWU) have failed to reach an emergency agreement, resulting in the loss of 40 cabin crew jobs in January, the airline said on Tuesday. 

Malta Air said that the agreement would have included “modest pay cuts (to be restored over four years)”, along with a minimum pay guarantee, and a three-year review.

The airline is currently operating at just 10% of its capacity due to COVID-19. However, it said it was still employing 100% of its pre-COVID cabin crew, which was an “untenable situation” in an industry which had been destroyed by COVID-19.

“Sadly, without this emergency agreement which was already agreed by Malta Air pilots, cabin crew job losses can no longer be avoided. As a direct result of the GWU’s failure to deliver upon its agreement with Malta Air, there will be 40 cabin crew redundancies implemented and these job losses will take effect on 1 January next,” a Malta Air spokesperson said.

In May of this year, MaltaToday had been told by sources that around 20 pilots and 40 cabin crew would be made redundant from the full complement of 179 pilots and cabin crew. 

READ MORE: Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air starts COVID-19 redundancies of pilots, cabin crew