Former Labour CEO puts Labour spokesperson on TM payroll

Former Labour Party communications chief Norma Saliba has been placed on Transport Malta’s payroll by the authority’s new chief executive, Leonid McKay, as the government continues to find publicly funded positions for party officials.

The Shift is informed that Saliba has been recruited as a senior communications manager and will work closely with McKay, himself a former Labour Party CEO who was appointed to lead Transport Malta despite having no previous experience in the transport sector.

Saliba’s latest appointment follows another short-lived stint at Labour headquarters.

She returned to the party as head of communications less than two years ago after failing to last long as executive head of the Centre for the Maltese Language – a position created for her by Culture Minister Owen Bonnici in 2023 following her forced departure as PBS head of news.

PL sources said Saliba also failed to make an impact at Labour headquarters, prompting the party’s highest echelons to seek another communications chief. She will be replaced by Edward Montebello, currently Robert Abela’s head of communications at Castille and a former Head of News of Labour’s TV station.

The decision was taken soon after Ivan Falzon was appointed Labour CEO, replacing McKay following the general election.

Saliba has now followed McKay to Transport Malta, where she has been recruited into a senior communications role inside the CEO’s office. Her remuneration package remains unknown, but sources said it is substantially higher than what she received from the Labour Party.

Transport Malta has not announced Saliba’s appointment publicly. She was appointed without a call for applications on the direct instructions of McKay.

In 2023, Saliba was forced out as PBS head of news following a public dispute with the state broadcaster’s former executive chairman, Mark Sammut. At the time, the government also ensured that she remained on PBS’s books as a manager, providing her with a fallback position.

Meanwhile, The Shift has obtained McKay’s new Transport Malta contract, showing that the former Labour CEO will receive a remuneration package of almost €140,000 annually.

His contract runs for 3 years, earning him almost 12,000 euros a month.

McKay’s appointment was announced after the election and was widely regarded within Labour circles as a reward for his service to the party. Despite lacking experience in transport, the former social worker was handed responsibility for one of the government’s largest and most troubled authorities.

The recruitment of Saliba means two former senior Labour officials are now occupying well-paid posts at Transport Malta, with their salaries funded by taxpayers.

Minister Chris Bonett was not consulted on these appointments.