Public healthcare could soon be hit by industrial action unless disputes over the privatisation of three State hospitals are not resolved by today week, the doctors’ union is warning.

The row revolves around a controversial agreement signed in March last year under which Vitals Global Healthcare, part of the Singapore-based Oxley Group, was given a 30-year lease to run the three hospitals.

Health Minister Chris Fearne has gone on record saying VGH would be injecting €220 million to revamp facilities, increase bed capacity and attract medical tourism.

The Medical Association of Malta had immediately sought a number of guarantees over its members’ conditions of works and had even asked the Auditor General to scrutinise the deal.

However, it complained that attempts to iron out the differences with the health authorities failed and no progress was registered.

Consequently, the doctors’ union recently registered an industrial dispute and gave notice of industrial action as from March 20. The union's council will be convening this evening to discuss the way forward.

Further meetings are scheduled in the coming days to gauge the members’ feedback.

We will never accept a privatisation deal akin to a banana republic

“The government did not consult us at all on this agreement. We will never accept a privatisation deal akin to a banana republic,” MAM general secretary Martin Balzan told this newspaper.

“Vitals have started recruiting staff with complete disregard to the collective agreement procedures,” he added.

Doctors in State hospitals are also up in arms following unofficial reports that those being engaged by the private operator are being paid more than the MAM’s members for doing the same job.

“As long as these top-ups are also offered to our members in the new collective agreement, which is up for renewal, we have no problem with it but otherwise we will not accept such discrepancy,” Dr Balzan pointed out.

He warned that the privatisation agreement could also have serious implications to patients.

“If we are introducing the American model, whereby profits come before anything else, patients could suffer,” Dr Balzan cautioned.

Stopping short from saying whether the union would be ordering strikes, he said a final decision would be taken today.

In a circular letter sent to doctors, the MAM accused the government of using the company “with no healthcare experience” to “bypass” the collective agreement. VGH has already been allocated €16 million with which a handful of managers were recruited, the doctors’ union said.

VGH now owns St Luke’s Hospital, Karen Grech hospital and the Gozo General Hospital,

It also raised concerns about plans for a public-private partnership for the psychiatry sector.

“Next will be the new Kirkop and Paola health centres, which are being constructed by private contractors. Furthermore, the MAM is reliably informed that a new block for paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology will be built as a privatised unit at Mater Dei Hospital. Very little information has been available to date,” the circular said.

The industrial dispute also revolves around a new collective agreement to replace the one that expired at the end of last year.

Though there have been two short meetings on the matter, the MAM said it was insisting the talks must be speeded up to reach a rapid and satisfactory conclusion.

PN: Government needs to explain

In a reaction to the union's warning of industrial action, the Nationalist Party said that as a result of the privatisation, the workers' conditions has deteriorated and there was discrimination between government workers and those engaged by the private sector.  

The PN said the health minister needs to declare whether the government plans to privatise mental health services, the mother and baby hospital, the dermatology department, rehabilitation services and the health centres in Kirkop and Paola.

Shadow Minister Claudette Buttigieg said workers have a right to know what is to become of their place of work. Many were feeling betrayed because the only roadmap the government had unveiled was to sell off state hospitals. 

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