Psychologists rattle the sabre
They register industrial dispute over infringement of sectoral agreement
Government psychologists have agreed to formally register an industrial dispute with the home affairs and education authorities over infringements of the sectoral agreement.
...they are not happy with the situation
The decision was taken during a meeting on Friday when psychologists made it evident that “they arenot happy with the situation,” explainedthe president of the MaltaUnion of Professional Psychologists, Bernard Caruana.
If industrial action were to be taken, the union would first discuss the matter with members, he said.
The meeting was called to discuss two main issues.
Firstly, the union is accusing the government, which employs about 22 psychologists, of dragging its feet over the revision of the 1996 sectoral agreement.
Secondly, the three government ministries that employed psychologists – health, home affairs and education – were not respecting the agreement, the union said.
Some psychologists were being employed on short-term definite contracts leading to job uncertainty, it added.
During the meeting, the psychologists decided to register an industrial dispute with the home affairs and education authorities over infringements tothe agreement.
So far they are not registering a dispute with the Health Ministry hoping to find a solution during a meeting scheduled for tomorrow with Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea, who is responsible for the sector.
The union will also be meeting the Finance Ministry tomorrow over thesectoral agreement.
If the union felt the ministry was not committed to revise the agreement, it would register a separate dispute, Mr Caruana said.
Talks to revise the agreement started in 2009. Initially, regular meetings were held, however, these eventually stopped being held regularly and no progress was made, Mr Caruana complained.
He said the revision was essential to ensure that patients were given a better service. The union was asking for improved structures that would allowfor coordination across the differentgovernment departments.
He said the union also wanted better consultation and the opportunity for continuous professional development.