Dear colleagues, dear cabin crew,
the latest news is devastating. Malta Air has published today that it plans to close FRA station by the end of March. The reason it gives is that it has not received sufficient benefits from Frankfurt Airport. As a trade union, we were informed only a few minutes before the publication. Malta Air thus seems to follow a dubious Ryanair’s tradition of sending dramatic social cuts as a New Year’s greeting. We are disappointed by the approach of Ryanair and Malta Air. There have been no discussions in advance on how to deal with such a situation in a socially responsible manner, although it is hard to imagine that the company has not planned such measures in the longer term.
In difficult times like these, it is very important that you remain strong and united and support each other.
Even though the situation is extremely annoying and the company’s approach causes great social problems, this is not the first time we have been confronted with station closures. For this reason, there is already a CLA from which every ver.di member can make claims. We will provide you with solidarity, legal support and advice.
The CLA has a section that contemplates your rights in case of closure.
The social plan agreed between ver.di and Ryanair is valid for base closures/down-sizing for all German bases and includes transfer compensation, reemployment and redundancy pay.
Although there might be some specific individual cases that diverge from what is stipulated in the Social Plan, this is a general overview of your rights:
If the crew member accepts this transfer, then the following will apply:
In the event that no vacancy exists, or the crew member does not accept the transfer offered to them, the crew member in the affected base may be made redundant.
The redundancy package is:
Monthly pay based on the gross avg. pay of the previous 12 months. Years of service that are not complete will be rated at 1/12th per month. Reduction in income due to short-time allowance is not taken into account in the calculation. The redundancy package will only apply to employees at the affected base with over two years of service – including time spent with an agency operating on Ryanair aircraft.
If the base reopens or additional aircraft are added to the base, vacancies will be offered in the following order; Crew who transferred out of the base as a result of the closure/downsizing and are still employed by Malta Air.
Crew who were previously made redundant and apply to return, subject to the following
Please keep us updated on your correspondence with the company
Consult your union official. Stay healthy, stay strong and above all stay brave!
your ver.di Bargaining Committee
Empolyees who achieve more points have priority over employees with fewer points. In case of a qual result in points the following criteria deide: Date in Base at current rank (including temporary promotions): per commenced year at specific base at current rank.
