Nursing aides' action at Mater Dei Hospital will continue, UĦM warns

Industrial action at Mater Dei Hospital entered the second day yesterday and would not stop until the situation changed or the Social Policy Ministry reviewed its position, the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin warned.

The action is being followed by nursing and paramedic aides, health assistants and care workers at the hospital's central sterile supply and medical imaging departments.

About 100 workers are claiming they were not being given the yearly allowance they were entitled to. But their actions were criticised by the nurses' union as "unjustified" and "unethical" because, it said, they were interfering with the work of nurses to the detriment of many patients.

The strike was called by UĦM, which argued the government had agreed to pay staff in the X-ray department and the sterilisation unit a yearly allowance of €1,150 that any workers in contact with patients were entitled to.

However, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said the UĦM had misinterpreted the agreement, arguing the employees in question were not entitled to such an allowance.

The MUMN warned the government that if it conceded to the UĦM's demands, it would have to ask for all nurses to be put on the same level. That would not only cost the government much more money but would also remove the incentive for people to opt for clinical work.

The UĦM said yesterday it was maintaining that an allowance should only be given to health workers who were in direct contact with patients. It was, therefore, incorrect for the MUMN to say it was insisting the allowance should also be given to clerical and administrative workers. It was also wrong of the MUMN to try and interpret an agreement it did not play any part in, the UĦM said.

The UĦM also published a letter it sent to Social Policy Minister John Dalli on July 22, which had not yet been answered.

"It is shocking how the ministry gave the impression it was the union's fault that the process took so long," it said, adding it was the ministry that put spokes in the wheels during the whole process. So much so that a circular, which would have kicked off the procedure and should have been issued two weeks after the agreement was signed in 2008, remained at the ministry for many months.

This dispute had been through 24 meetings and about 90 hours of discussions and negotiations with various ministries and interested parties, the UĦM said.

It believed strongly in social dialogue but was not willing to allow an internal pique on the part of the administration to lead to the lack of implementation of an agreement.

The General Workers' Union said it had received a number of complaints from various groups of health workers on the industrial action. It made it clear it never promised impossible things to win new members. "This is left for irresponsible unions that then, because they have to live up to promises that raise expectations, start inventing industrial action."