Defiant MUMN to step up industrial action
The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses warned today that it would step up industrial action at Mater Dei and Mt Carmel Hospital hospitals in reaction to 'intimidation of nurses'.
The union said it had given its warning in a letter to the Health Division.
Last Friday the Health Ministry said official letters were being sent to nurses involved in industrial action at Mt Carmel, warning them that they were violating the Industrial Relations Act by not providing essential services.
It said the nurses had been ordered not to administer medicines and treatment.
The MUMN said it would clarify its position at a press conference tomorrow.
The FORUM group of trade unions this morning declared its support to the MUMN, which is one if its members.
In a statement over the signature of John Bencini, Forum president, the grouping said it was a 'lie' that nurses had been directed not to administer medicines. This was only intended to cast the nurses in a bad light.
The FORUM said the MUMN was protesting because of a shortage of 550 nurses.
Despite such a serious shortage, the ministry expected nurses to leave their wards and to wait in the queues to collect medicines from the stores. In other European countries, the wards were supplied with their needs by people engaged for the purpose.
The FORUM hit out at the ministry's claim that the nurses' industrial action was illegal, and said that this perhaps explained why the draft collective agreement for government employees as presented to the unions, proposed changes which made industrial action practically impossible.
Rather than attacking the nurses, it would be better for the government to thank them for their hard work in very difficult circumstances, the grouping said.
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Sue Borg
Sep 13th 2010, 12:05
@ J Farrugia. I suggest that you read properly what the issue is and do not look at it through a political lens. Nurses are being constantly subjected to do work outside their job description which takes them outside their respective wards. All over the world this work is carried out by others outside the nursing profession. The situation is more so compounded with the “engineered nursing shortage”. Some years back it was an official statement by the Health authorities stating that the nursing compliment was then complete, followed by a substantial reduction in student stipend and numerous clauses on the nursing course. This resulted in yearly intake of less than 50 students from circa 200 as was at the end of the 1990’s. The service you and I are getting is at the cost of having Nurses working up to 60 hours plus a week ( against WHO recommendations)to cover the vacant posts, increased services and vacation/sick leave cover. Yet if one makes a mistake he or she are crucified and hung out to dry. MUMN directives are not political but are a consequence of the Nursing community who have had enough.
J Farrugia
Sep 13th 2010, 08:41
That is the real reason for this industrial (sic) action by MUMN. They want to put pressure on the government to give a place to FORuM in the MCESD and not the nurses' interests. Lock them out if they dont want to work.
T Camilleri
Sep 13th 2010, 10:49
J Farrugia continue showing the people how the PN and its supporters are against the working class Farrugia. The more you continue doing so the more the PN and its leaders will lick the dust come next election
FB Aquilina
Sep 14th 2010, 23:29
Mr Farrugia your logic is ridiculous.
Joseph E Briffa
Sep 13th 2010, 07:33
What happened all of a sudden? MUMN wakes up one day and notices a shortage of nurses.....they then decide to instruct their members to go on work to rule to solve the problem...simply absurd. In what way will this directive serve towards the solution of the problem?. The shortage of nurses is a problem that has been with us for years and it's not a problem unique to Malta. I believe private hospitals use the services of state nurses who work there on a partime basis. The Health authorities have taken steps to address the problem and are in the process of recruiting some 250 nurses mostly foreigners. So what's up with MUMN?
Muscat Pat
Sep 13th 2010, 09:03
The problem accrued because there was no planning for the recruitment and education of nurses. The University said that there are not enough lecturers, class space and money to accept student nurses even though these have the necessary qualifications for the course. The fault lies not with the unions but with lack of planning of this the lethargic government : good at spinning , but not at solving problems of his own making.
a.dalli
Sep 12th 2010, 20:58
Blobbers. Think back to the '70. What was the situation then? Now with all the boasted available facilities, should there be limitations on intakes for the nurse’s course? Maintaining standards; by all means.
Carmel Saliba
Sep 12th 2010, 20:47
Stalemate in nurses’ dispute
By
Nikki Abela Mercieca The Sunday Times 12th September 2010.
No headway was made yesterday during a meeting between the health minister and nurses union to resolve its “illegal” industrial action, amid warnings that the union’s actions could ................
The article ended
'The University said that so far no students had been left out of the nursing course, as they are still waiting for the results of the Matsec resits to be published at the end of September'.
In reality what is the problem or the above University statement is false when we are being informed that only 160 are accepted for the Nursing Course intake.
m.farrugia
Sep 12th 2010, 20:27
@V.Saliba, meta ma tkunx taf l-affarijiet sewwa jew inkella tipprova tizvija lil dawk li qed jiktbu on line ahjar ma tikteb xejn. fl-1977 kien il-Gvern li sejja lockout u mhux strike. Se niqaf hawn halli ma nigix akkuzat min xi hadd li jkun qieghed jistenna ix-xoqqa f'moxta u jakkuzani li qed inkun politiku.
Lina Caruana
Sep 12th 2010, 19:45
Health and Education are services essential to the country but most essentially to persons. Industrial disputes should never be a travesty of politics because they do a lot of harm to people especially if they are sustained over a long period of time. No one will "free" Malta from real or imagined wrongs in this way. We are playing with our own welfare because sometimes we are workers ,at the same time we are also clients of essential services. People who want the real welfare of their country will now realize we need to rethink the ways of how we function and plan strategies . Most of the time they are out of date and are not responsive to real issues. What good can come out of putting a show based on a drama of the absurd? If there needs to be discussion need there be a fight? And if the suggested solution is not practical ,can't you be more realistic?
M.Bezzina
Sep 12th 2010, 17:58
Ejjew ninaqdu maqdwar il mejda u naraw il htigijiet u niddiskutu..haw Malta in nurse irid jaghmel ix xoghol ta kulhadd barra li huwa xoghlu....barra minn Malta in nurse ma johrogx min gos swali sa anka hemm team apposta biex il pazjenti ghall got teatru jigu alijhom fis swali u johduhom huma mhux in nurse tas sala irid johrog jaghmel il qadi, jahsel il pazjenti, jeskortja pazjenti ghall boffa, zammit clapp, pazjenti ghall operazjonijiet jew x-rays daw kollha 'burden' .In nurse tas sala ghandu jkun prezenti fis sala jaqdi il htigijiet tal pazjenti rikoverati hemmek u mhux iktar barra is sala milli gewwa!!Sfortunatament qatt ma rajna hawn malta xinu propja ix xol tan nurse!!u iktar mohhna biex niffrankaw il pagi/flus milli naghtu servizz mill aqwa...ghalkemm nemmen li xorta is servizz jinghata imma biktar pressure fuq in nurse!!
Charles Zammit
Sep 12th 2010, 16:22
MUMN seems to be forgetting that besides rights, her members have also obligations in the form of legal and moral duties. I have yet to come across a union as irresponsible as this one. Whilst acknowledging the good work done by nurses at all grades and in various grades and categories I abhor the irresponsible directives of MUMN leaders. They are holding the national health service at ransom and should be held personally liable without any hesitation.
V Saliba
Sep 12th 2010, 15:26
@m.farrugia
Fl-1977, quddiem min kienu responsabbli t-tobba u nurses li strajkjaw kontra l-introduzzjoni ta servizz lil marid b'xejn???
A. Zahra
Sep 12th 2010, 16:39
Fil 1977 lockout mil gvern kien hemm u mhux strik. Insejtu lil Danny Cremona?
Pat Hobson
Sep 12th 2010, 17:37
@Zahra. Fis-77 il-lockout gie tort tat-tobba. Kienu jmorru l-isptar biex jitlajjaw mhux work to rule bhalma qeghdin jaghmlu issa n-nurses. U fuq kollox, kulhadd jaf li l-istrajk tat-tobba kine politiku u xejn izjed. Kieku ma kienx hekk, mela ghala wara li nbidel il-Gvern fin-1987, dahlu taht l-istess kundizzjonijiet li kien ghamlilhom l-MLP tan-1977?
Victor Laiviera
Sep 12th 2010, 19:14
Sur Zahra, il-"lock-out" ġie wara taparsi strike li ma kien strike xejn iżda azzjoni purament politika instigata mill-PN biex jidestabilixxi l-Gvern Laburista
J Farrugia
Sep 13th 2010, 10:54
Il-Lock out tat-tobba fl-1977 sehh minhabba l-arroganza u d-dttatura ta' gvern lli kellna dak iz-zmien. Hadd ma jinsa dawn il-hwejjeg tal-ghajb ghall-pajjizna u ghal labour. U llum ghadhom qed ihallsu l-prezz tal-arroganza taghhom. It-tobba ridu jiehdu azzjoni nduztrijali minhabba li l-gvern ried li t-tobba li jiggradwaw jaghmlu sentejn bilfors mal-gvern. dik kollha u l-ebda Victor Laviera li nibbudita kienx twieled ma jista jgiddeb jew ibiddel l-istorja mahmuga tal-partit tieghu,.
r.cutajar
Sep 12th 2010, 15:25
First the powers that be allows a situation which disregards the wellbeing of the nurses by ignoring a well known shamfull shortage of nurses also ignoring coutless justified reverberations ,then the powers that be uses its muscles to threaten and take away the only weapon the nurses could use !
the rest is if I am all right -------------- jack
Tonio Vassallo
Sep 12th 2010, 14:53
I think that instead of judging our hard-working nurses we should first see the reason for these action. My wife, who passed away last year, was a regular patient at Mater Dei and in the renal unit. The love and dedication shown towards her was amazing. Most of them worked in wards that lacked the amount of nurses required but this did not stop them from working hard for the patients. My wife was always taken care of and the Government should do its utmost to help them and not hinder their work. After all they work for the wellbeing of the patients, who is our sister, brother, mother, father etc....We all need the nurses sometimes, so lets all help them by protesting with the Government and give them all the help they need.
C.Borg
Sep 12th 2010, 15:30
I agree with you, nurses give sterling work but this is not about their conditions of work or pay. The government is employing a number of foreign nurses to fill in the neccessary gap.
But the nurses union cannot impose that the University barters quality with quantity. There is no way that the accreditation that the UOM nursing course enjoys would be kept if more than the set number of students are taken in per year. And the reason is simple, the number of students in medical courses is limited by numebr of patients available, and this occurs throughout the world and not only in Malta.
A. Zahra
Sep 12th 2010, 16:36
Back up your slanderous statement by mentioning one aspect where the government is hindering nurses.
Joe Camenzuli
Sep 13th 2010, 10:14
A. Zahra do you want The Times to be filled with just the hindering instances for nurses by the present government?
m.farrugia
Sep 12th 2010, 14:40
konna qed nistennewa li l-forum jaghtu l-appoġġ lil din il-Union li minkejja li ma ghanda ebda kwistjoni mal-gvern iddecidiet li tordna azzjon i industrijali. IL-mexxejja tal-Union tan-nurses huma responsabbli mhux quddiem il-pazjenti biss ghal azzjoni taghhom imma anki quddiem Alla jekk xi hadd minn dawn isofri konsegwenzi minhabba din l-azzjoni industrijali banali. Veru li f'dan il-pajjiz sar kollox xejn ma huwa xejn.
M A Camilleri
Sep 12th 2010, 22:12
@m.farrugia
I would like to clarify some points you mentioned in your comment. I will explain briefly how short sighted you are. First of all you probably are unaware of what our directives are, because certain sections from the media like to report inaccuracies. I am a nurse and know what are the directives and rest assured that our patients are not being put in any danger.
Let me tell you why we are protesting. We are calling on the health department to take immediate actions to solve certain problems which are not new ones but some of them have been around for years. Do you think that nurses shortage is a new problem? no its the result of wrong management. Several experienced nurses left the public sector because they were fed up by the working conditions. This problem started with the migration to the State of the art hospital and is only noted now because we have been overworking to cover these shortages.