Before the final agreements on employees’ working conditions are signed, any deals signed by the government with foreign entrepreneurs should be tabled in Parliament and independently audited, the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions said today.

In a statement, the CMTU said it is supporting the stand taken by the UHM Voice of the Workers and the Medical Association of Malta on the privatisation of the Gozo Hospital, Karen Grech Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital.

The CMTU also called for an audit by the National Audit Office on the government’s agreements – including those that have not yet been finalised - with Vitalis Global Healthcare, the winning bidder for the €200 million project.

It welcomed the government’s commitment for better governance in decisions taken, and also the withdrawal of legal notices exempting hospital owners from needing to apply for development permits.

The CMTU is made up of the UHM, the Malta Medical Association, the Malta Union of Bank Employees, the Lotto Receivers’ Union, the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists, and the Malta Union of Professional Psychologists.

In a reaction, the Nationalist Party said the publication of the contracts signed as well as the conclusion of the investigation by the Auditor General are legitimate requests the government cannot ignore.

It said the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, chief of staff Keith Schembri and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi have a lot to answer for.