GWU says UK buyer wants Selmun Palace Hotel

The prospective buyer – who is interested in purchasing the entirety of the Selmun Palace Hotel, including its 58 workers according to union sources – aims to sink as much as €55 million into both the purchase of the company and subsequent development.

But the tender process by which bidders can table offers has yet to start, despite government’s announcement to sell off the Air Malta subsidiary in March.

In the meantime, both Air Malta and government have gone ahead with mass redundancies for the hotel’s entire 58-strong workforce. The decision was taken during the first board meeting of Air Malta’s new board of directors last month.

Contacted by MaltaToday, General Workers’ Union’s hospitality & foods section secretary Josef Bugeja said that Air Malta has been aware of the buyer’s offer for days – before the redundancy announcement was made.

Bugeja said a meeting was held between the buyer and Air Malta’s management on Monday morning to discuss the offer. He described the meeting as “very fruitful” and that Air Malta officials “seemed very interested in his offer.”

That meeting was not the first. Bugeja also said the buyer had met with a “high-ranking Air Malta official” several days before Monday’s meeting, in an informal meeting.

Bugeja also revealed that a second buyer will be meeting with Air Malta in the coming weeks to express interest in buying the hotel.

“Despite this interest in the hotel’s purchase, Air Malta still seems to be dragging its feet in issuing the tender that would allow concrete proposals to be made,” Bugeja said. “The (UK) buyer is only waiting for Air Malta to start the tendering process.”

Bugeja said the wait was unacceptable given the announcement to sell off the hotel months ago, and the redundancies announced before proposals could have been seriously considered.

On its part, Air Malta said it had made a number of attempts to sell the hotel as an operating concern but such attempts were not successful. “In the latest offer issued, which closed in April 2010, a substantial bid was received which fell through at the last minute. Meanwhile, the airline will be embarking on a local and international process to sell the property and/or company. The airline will be engaging with local estate agents to advertise the property through their international network so as to maximise the value and proceeds of the sale.”

A meeting between the GWU and Selmun’s employees was held on Tuesday morning in order to update the workers on latest developments and to confirm that no employees had been served with redundancy notices.

The government’s statement announcing the redundancies last week was hotly contested by the GWU, on the grounds that redundancies cannot be made before a way forward is discussed with them as the workers’ representatives. “No workers can be issued notices for now. Consultations need to take place with the union to determine a way forward and discussion options before that redundancies can be made,” Bugeja said.

“It is useless for Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to call on the Employment and Training Corporation to assist in finding employment for Selmun workers when they haven’t been made redundant yet to begin with.”

Consultations notwithstanding, the feeling among workers is negative, Bugeja said. “Some have been working there for 30 years and the only talk they’ve heard from government is on redundancies and how it is sorry. They are hurt and worried.”

He said Air Malta chief executive Peter Davies’s statement on the redundancies “made it sound like Air Malta’s €13 million loss was caused by them. It was not their fault.”

GWU representatives and Air Malta management was scheduled to meet to discuss options today. “We are going into the meeting with a mind to find solutions for the workers to retain their job,” he said.

Bugeja however expressed doubts about whether Air Malta management would be open to the GWU’s proposals. “I believe Air Malta’s intention is to simply satisfy legal obligations to meet with the workers’ legal representatives before issuing redundancy notices.”

A protest walk by Selmun hotel employees and GWU officials outside the doors of Castille has also been announced, but it is so far unclear whether the GWU has obtained the necessary police permits.