Updated: Pilots' union in dispute with Air Malta

(Adds ALPA's reply) Air Malta has accused the pilots’ union of being unwilling to work constructively with the airline. In a statement, Air Malta said that barely three months after concluding a new collective agreement, ALPA - the Airline Pilots Association, registered an industrial dispute with the airline claiming that the new training facilities at Air Malta's new offices were not up to standard. The union’s executive committee also objected to the use of a new briefing room which was currently being refurbished as part of an overall exercise intended to reduce costs significantly, Air Malta said. Air Malta said it has now challenged the union executive committee’s claims and invited ALPA to provide proof to support its claims. It said it could not understand the motivations behind the union’s actions especially since certain committee members had, in the past months, embarked on a campaign stating that not enough was being done by the company to reduce costs. Air Malta said that now that concrete action was taken, ALPA was the first one to object to changes. It said that the union’s executive committee showed a particular inability to work constructively with management...