Industrial action at St Vincent de Paul

The Union Haddiema Maghqudin yesterday ordered industrial action at St Vincent de Paul Home for the Elderly on the same day the General Workers' Union brought its industrial action there to an end.

The GWU said a meeting was held yesterday between its representatives and officials from the Office of the Prime Minister over an allowance for care workers. Another meeting between the two sides will take place on Monday.

On the other hand, the UHM said that for the past four months it has been insisting that care workers should be paid an allowance like other workers.

In April, the UHM had threatened to take industrial action if such an allowance was not granted.

Contacted yesterday, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly Helen D'Amato said this was an issue that needed to be discussed at a managerial level, adding that "we are always open to discussions".

Asked whether the union directives were having an effect on the elderly, Mrs D'Amato pointed out that all such actions do, adding that the management would try to mitigate the effect as much as possible.

The UHM did not specify the nature of the industrial action ordered. Efforts to contact John Briffa of the UHM's health section were unsuccessful.