
Thursday, 28th May 2009 - 13:29CET
GWU calls for government statement on health service charges
The GWU has called on the government to issue a clear statement that public health services would remain free of charge.
It said it was concerned about reports that the government had commissioned and discussed a report which recommended payment for public health services.
While recognising that health services imposed a burden on state finances, the GWU said it firmly stood by its belief that essential social services, including health services, should remain free of charge for all, and the governemnt, therefore, should not abdicate its responsibilities.







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I think that it is you that should hallina Martinelli. There was no need for strikes because all workers got an wage increase for the cost of living every year and also an increase in the bonus which the PN said was going to bankrupt the employers. Living in far away Canada and relying on teh PN propaganda machine for your information makes you unable to comment fairly and correctly Martinelli. Democracy now? You must be joking.
One would not need to be present at Mintoff's Cabinet meetings attended by a GWU representative as an 'observer'.
It is the results that count. Do you admit that the GWU never called for one strike while the Socialists were in power? You mean to tell me that the Socialists were just with the teachers, the doctors, the dock workers and just about every other worker at the time? So, I ask again, where was the GWU if not held back by the Mintoffian leash?
Now that the GWU is enjoying true democracy, quite unknown in the 7y0s and 80s, it is open season on the government since it happens that it is the GWU's preferred one.
Hallina Galea!
You do not even know what the MUMN criticised the Government for in this issue and still you persist with your-know-it-all depressing replies. In fact you are also misinformed that the Government intends to hold further talks with MAM, even though they still don't know the subject of these meetings.
You really don't need to talk about party blinkers, let alone your famous ways how you do your best to please the NP...even if at the expense of sacrificing basic knowledge and common sense.
As for my party blinkers, well what can I say, people living in glass houses should not throw stones!
Not an issue? Just listen to the comments of both the nurses' and the doctors' union and you would realize what it means to value credibility and trustworthiness.
But first you have to move the party blinkers from your eyes.
Some people are more believable than others.
How could you possibly know what was said at Cabinet meetings especially since you have been living cosily in far away Canada? Not relying as always on the PN's propaganda machine are you? All you and pn apologists mention is chocolate. What is more important, to live a decent life or being spoiled for choice which you cannot afford? As for free health care and doctors not understanding you that is a blatant lie because there were interpreters, I used the service so I know and apart from that maybe you have forgotten that many Maltese speak more than one language. All you pn apologists do when you have no argument is to resort to blatant lies.
A Camilleri erga' aqrah u ifhmu sewwa camilleri u ftakar x'qalu MP's Nazzjonalisti. Insejt min qal li din trid tinqata li kollox b'xejn ghax nesa li qatt ma konna intaxxati daqs taht il-PN u anki gholla l-VAT b'20% biex taghmel tajjeb (suppost) ghall-isptar Mater Dejn u s-servizzi tas-sahha? Dwar il-50c tar-ricetti qajjimtu l-irwiefen kollha. Issa tridu tiddefendu l-hlas ghas-servizz tas-sahha? Kif jghidu, kieku l-gemel jara hotobtu jaqa' u jmut zoptu.
I hate to have to tell it to you my dear friend I've been woken up, alive and kicking since much before the last election and like many others I heard every word that P.M. Gonzi ,for whom I had quite a-lot of trust before, had to say. For example he promised to reduce tax from 35% to 25% in the FIRST budget but nothing of the sort happened, he promised subsidies on the surcharge but surprise, surprise this was all gone after the election, he promised to elect heads of Depts. through a 'tendering-like' process but nothing done here too, he promised mothers a tax break of a whole year which was reduced to not more than 2,000 Eur, he promised 'togetherness' and after the election on one issue after the other he takes decisions on his own, he promised the teachers their allowances but they're still empty handed, he promised Bus drivers a 10 year contract and then "changed his mind...", he promised sound finances and accountability and Malta is drowning in deficit and Ministerial mismanagement.................
.............and you expect me to believe these people again!!?? U hallina tridx....Kelb mismut kull ilma jahsbu mishun!!!
Keep at it Joseph Muscat - you are no different to your predecessor.
@ Galea L
In Socialist times, the GWU attended Cabinet meetings so that it would be told first hand to shut up and do as Mintoff decided. Wage freezes, strikes, doctors leaving en-masse and the GWU kept mum!
"...pensioners used to live like rich people and could afford to give presents to their nephews and nieces" Are you suffering from dementia? Yes, you are partially right, pensioners could then afford presents to nephews and nieces as long as the present was not in the form of chocolates. Today pensioners have a variety of presents to choose from and still give them to nephews and nieces as long as their special occasion does not fall when the pensioners are away enjoying a holiday overseas.
Health care was free then too, but one could not understand what the foreign doctor was saying and neither did the doctor understand what your ailment was.
Your questions have been answered long before you chose to repeat the usual rhetoric. Facts are written with black on white and since you insist on escaping the truth, I chose to remind you two recent cases in which the Nationalist Government has fed its credibility to the dogs.
Please remember that during Bondi+ Lawrence Gonzi did not even want to admit that he had a report about the health sector on his desk. When Muscat revealed the report Gonzi was forced to make a step further and change his version completely!
In the end, it is not a question of intentions or the subject of matters, it is a question of common sense that hopefully will help you to identify what it means to credible and trustworthy.
Nifhmek.... Blajna kanna li ma smajniex minn Alfred Sant u Joseph Muscat u dhalna fl-Unjoni Ewropeja... Mela allura nghid jghid x'hergin jaghmlu dawk li kienu jeqirdu li Malta gamblu zghir?? Din tal-gambli tinten wisq......
Is-sahha lilek ukoll..... u B"XEJN! ;)
@ LGalea
Qrajtu siehbi ta.... u ergajt qrajtu...... hallieha li mzelleg wahda sew bhal min ippublikah!! ;) Fittixt fit-TOR (taf x'inhuma?) u mkien ma sibt li r-rapport ghandu jinkludi xi items fuq hlas u mhux hlas.....
Heqq.... komplejt nikkonferma il-gideb min fejn gej!!!!!!!! Grazzi Sur Galea
I think you should have seen yesterday's discussion on TVM. Minister John Dalli was quite clear. Anzi, when Glenn Beddingfield said that the Govt did not deny this infamous lie, Minister Dalli aasked him if he (Glenn) is deaf (trux)
I think you are being subjected to a heavy brainwashing exercise!!!!!!!!
Wake up my dear friend....
Kieku blajna gamblu jinten BISS fiha u ma fihiex. Imma blajna bil-wisq aktar minn ftit millimetri ta' gamblu!
Sahha lilek
Is it not clear that, yes we do have a grand hospital, however we have forked out an exorbitant amount of money due to an inefficient management?
Is it not clear that though we have this grand building, the service has hardly improved? More so, it has become worst since there was a lack of planning when it comes to human resources.
Is it not clear that this government is confusingly trying to tackle the problem of lack of human resources?
Is it not clear that this government has started off a new, brilliant scheme to limit the number of people going to Mater Dei's pharmacy, but to eventually not plan well as to make sure that medicines are available at the local pharmacies?
Is it not also clear to all that this scheme has only partially been implemented due to logistic issues, which rightly so, local pharmacy owners have often pointed out?
Is it not clear to everyone where this Government is heeding us?
The GWU always defended the interests of the workers and pensioners so much so that during the Labour Government when its representatives used to attend Cabinet meeting pensioners used to live like rich people and could afford to give presents to their nephews and neices contrary to their situation now when they cannot even make ends meet.
download the report and after reading it and comparing what PN exponents have been saying see whether the PL is saying the truth. As they say, il-qasba ma ccaqcaqx ghalxejn. Here's the link for you and the others Camilleri.
http://www.maltastar.com/userfiles/Report%20on%20Implementation%20of%20a%20Patient%20Registration%20System%20SMALL.pdf
Mistoqsija:
Meta l-Labour kien fil-gvern bejn in-96 u n-98, u dahhal taxxa fuq il-medicini u taxxa fuq it-tabib tal-clinics, fejn kienet il-GWU???
Risposta:
Eh.. ijwa kien qed jaghmlilha rapport il-Profs Edward Scicluna he he he he he
Since the Nationalist Party whom you are defending does not even trust you, how can you assume that we're being impressed by your apologistic stunts intentioned to defend those who don't believe/trust you?!
WHO IS THE PRIME MINISTER: LAWRENCE GONZI or EDWARD SCICLUNA???
So STOP being brainwashed and misled by PN media and ask yourself this simple question!!
As far as I know, Prime Minister Gonzi of GonziPN had sworn that health service would NEVER be charged as long as he is a prime minister!!! That is a promise!
Edward Scicluna could have given his own opinion, but he did not make any promise to us citizens just like in Gonzi's case! Sorry!!!!!
If Gonzi wanted to win the election at all costs ... hekk haga ohra!
But the peopple say, GWU do the right thing and challenge the government everytime it tries to impose further sacrifices. That is the true role of a Workers Union the like of the GWU.
Let us hope that those who denigrate the GWU will never come to need someone to defend them. Probably they are self sufficient and have friends not to need protection. Time will come to make them despair for not finding protection.
Of course we will soon have to pay for Hospitals we had 266,000,000 euros deficit last year and 260,000,000 in the first 3 months of this year!! Is-Sahha ha ssir bil-hlas ghax il-pajjiz FINANZJARJAMENT FALLUT!!! The chickens are too close to home and the roosting is about to begin!!
Nghid jien ghax ma tqabbdux biex jaghmilha rapport fuq dan ukoll : )
Din tas-sahha ma hija xejn hlief gimmick ohra Lejburista ......
Imma possibli hawn min jibqa jibla l' gambli jintnu?
TAJN XEJN DIK HIJA L VERITA HI
IR-RAPPORT LI HAREG ALFRED SANT QABEL L-ELEZZJONI M'HUWIEX L'ISTESS RAPPORT LI GHADU KIF HAREG JM TA, TA JM IL GVERN GHAMLU XAGHREJN WARA L-ELEZZJONI BIEX MA TOQODX TAHSEB LI QED ISIR DAN TAPPOSTA GHAX GEJJA ELEZZJONI. HEKK RID THALLAS INT? ARA VERU AW NIES MA JFIEQU QATT TA.
Following your comments below, I am surprised. It is either you did not read the report or have no idea of how a report is written.
Page 4 of the report shows the Terms of Reference that the task force had to do. The issues that the task force had to analyse and evaluate and reccomend to the Government. these TOR are given by who Commissions the report. In this case the Government.
Now, can you please tell me, where in the TOR of this report, there is written that the Government is asking the task force to evaluate the idea of costs???? If you cannot, then, you are simply a MLP blogger and believe everything that Joe Muscat says. Like you believed Alfred Sant before the last election about health costs...
Pity, certain people do not have a mind of their own to think and formulate thier own beliefs...
Are you the same Giovanni who said the following?
“I have been one of the very few Nationalist supporters who are continually trying to blow the PN trumpet wherever I can and whenever I can. But little did I realise that some of my writings were not going down well with some officials at Tal-Pieta and little by little I was finding myself a persona non grata with the PN media.”
The Malta Independent 27.4.2005
Stop trying to offend our intelligence my friend!
Now that the UHM has agreed with Joseph Muscat and objected to foreign workers at the Freeport, who is not telling the whole truth?
Who is telling the truth when seeing the European Commission agreeing with PL in refusing to believe Lawrence Gonzi aboout the country's deficit?
Judging on these facts and considering how the Government has commissioned and endorsed the health report itself, one would obviously conclude that the Gonzi administration could not be trusted anymore.
the people is of utter importance.To all gonzipn apologists how can we take the PM
statements seriously when he did not keep most of his written asssurances.i.e,hunters,shipyard workers,go employees etc etc after all as he stated we judge him by his deeds and not by his words
Initiare International LTD Malta, are ready to present a business model and development plan, to the relevant Government ministries, of how such reform in public and private sector healthcare can take place on the island.
With all due respect you either do not know how the EP works or youre just spinning. How can an MEP "work to have charges imposed on health care in Malta" - Concretely, please.
It is the true that the PM has actually 'denied', albeit very unconvincingly, but he also did so in the last election, only to commission a report a couple of months after his re-election.
@R .Gauci
Again this is PN's rhetoric. If you really beleive that healthcare ought to remain free, you either do not commission reports assessing financial feasibility and how to finance it through public payments or if you do, you disclaim that the Gov'ts policy is not that!
Gonzi did none of these.
Plus, and this is most important: there are too many promises this PM has broken.......is this another one?
How BLIND
Lintenzjoni biss bizzejjed my friend.
Ghalfejn ser dar l-istudju? ovvja l-intenzjoni hemm qeghda.
U hallikom minn scicluna! qed terqu u ma tafux ma xiex ser taqbdu. Qed terqu siehbi.
Xi wieghda grandjuza ohra minn taghkom biss tista ssalvakom.
The 'preferred Union' is contradicting Prof. Scicluna, an LP candidate for MEP. The GWU wants no part in any fee for Health Services, while the esteemed professor hints at future possible fees in order to sustain the system. One would understand then, that if the LP is ever elected to govern, the Health System will no longer be free. What will the GWU say then?
If any clarification is needed, it should come from the LP and not just from 'amended' words by Prof. Scicluna.
The GWU should listen more attentively when the Prime Minister speaks, since even from before the last election, he promised that health services will continue to be free.
If the general public expects any service exceeding the present level, then, of course, it is expected to pay for additional services. After all, that is why private hospitals continue to thrive since they can take care of those who are able to pay and 'jump the line'. This is not in any way unique.
Tghid qed taghmila ta sponsor lil PL?
Dan min meta rapport jigi implementat mal-ewwel? Jew nghawgu fejn jaqblilna basta nitfaw t-tajn fuq haddiehor?
On 'Reporter', the TVM programme, on 7th May 2008, Edward Scicluna, declared: "li tghid sahha b’xejn ghal kulhadd, il-hin kollu u minghajr limitu fuq x’tiehu u ma tiehux, fl-ebda pajjiz ma’ tezisti, u ma’ tistax tezisti hawn”.
This is not a report putting options before the government which the government can decline, but a declaration by a Labour candidate.
We are at a point where consultants are not even free to express their opinions freely as they are being interpreted as being Govt policy. How childish and immature!
Is the General Workers Union ready to ask Prof. Edward Scicluna to publically declare that if he is elected he won't work to have charges imposed on health care in Malta?
Is the General Workers Union aware that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has already made such a statement several times following the allegations on the Labour media including in the activity held at Pieta` infront of the PN Headquarters and on Bondi+ broadcast on TVM?
When will the General Workers Union stop serving as "his master's voice" of the Labour Party?