Nursing aides insist in court only the GWU can represent them

A group of 447 of nursing aides and the General Workers' Union yesterday asked the Civil Court not to allow the Prime Minister and the Director General of Health from finalising any agreement governing the conditions of employment of the aides with anybody other than the GWU.

The aides and the union applied for the issue of a warrant of prohibitory injunction in the First Hall of the Civil Court.

The aides, all of whom were employed with the Health Division, told the court they only had confidence in the GWU and that they had not authorised any other person, other than the GWU, to discuss their conditions of employment on their behalf with the Health Department.

There were 680 nursing aides in the Health Division and it was therefore clear that the GWU represented all of them as it enjoyed the support of the 447 aides who had filed the application for the warrant.

The aides and the union told the court that on August 10 the GWU had requested to be recognised as the union that could conduct the negotiations for the collective agreement for nursing aides. However, this request was denied by means of an e-mail dated September 27 sent by the Director General of Health.

The aides and the GWU told the court they feared that the authorities would conclude an agreement with another union that did not represent the majority of nursing aides.

Lawyer Aaron Mifsud Bonnici signed the application.