Breakthrough in dispute over ward clerks

The wrangle between the Health Division and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses over the union's request that ward clerks be employed at St Luke's Hospital is likely to be settled soon, sources said.

A breakthrough was registered following meditation efforts by Jesmond Sharples, director of nursing services at the Health Division. On Tuesday, the first batch of 10 ward clerks will be employed at the medical wards. Thereafter, 10 clerks a week will be employed until a complement of 40 is reached, the sources said.

According to the MUMN, nurses and midwives have been spending 40 per cent of their time in administrative work that could easily be done by ward clerks.

When contacted, MUMN secretary Colin Galea said the union would maintain the directives it had issued to its members not to carry out any administrative work until the union receives a guarantee that 40 ward clerks will be taken on.

On February 6, the MUMN had directed nurses in eight medical wards not to do any administrative work that was not directly related to the treatment of patients.

The directive was extended on Thursday to all the wards at St Luke's including those that were serviced by ward clerks.

Last Monday, in a letter to Ray Busuttil, director general of the Health Division, the MUMN noted that in spite of the agreement reached between the division and the union on June 8, 2001, vacancies for ward clerks had not been filled.