The government has set up a board of inquiry into claims that care workers are being subjected to abusive conditions of work.

The board is made up of Joe Scicluna as chairman and Frank Pullicino and Cynthia Scerri Debono as members.

In a statement earlier, Labour spokesman Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca had said it was shameful of the government to be ignoring the pleas of these care workers.

She called on the government to publish the contract it had signed with the private contractor, the contract signed by the care workers, their pay slips, vacation and sick leave and other documents related to their employment.

The allegations centre around a company called Support Services Ltd, which supplies care workers to public hospitals.

It has denied claims made by the Labour party that it adopted illegal and abusive working practices, saying it was not true that care workers it employed were denied sick leave, maternity rights and that they were paid paltry hourly rates.