Union calls for withdrawal of stop leave notice

The Union Haddiema Maghqudin yesterday filed a judicial protest in the First Hall of the Civil Court against the director general of the health and against the permanent secretary in the ministry of health.

The protest was filed by Gaetano Tanti and Gaetano Vella, the UHM`s president and general secretary respectively, and by Joseph Bonello and John Mary Briffa, president and secretary of the union`s health services sector, against Dr Ray Busuttil and Emanuel Micallef.

The UHM said they had an industrial dispute with the health department over the conditions of employment of ambulance drivers. The union had instructed its members to take partial industrial action as a result of the dispute.

However, on the day in which the industrial action was due to start, the health department had issued a notice of stop leave to its ambulance drivers. The UHM appealed to the department to refrain from such punitive measures in respect of employees who were obeying a legitimate union directive but the department failed to comply with the union`s request.

The UHM said this state gave rise to serious doubts as to how the health department was reacting for when another union had given a directive for partial industrial action the department had not reacted in the same manner. The department`s reaction could therefore be considered to be discriminatory and aimed at undermining the UHM`s directives.

The union called on the health authorities to immediately withdraw its stop leave order for ambulance drivers.

Dr Ian Spiteri Bailey signed the protest.