I do not propose to add salt to old wounds, however, I feel compelled to reflect on a tail of utter betrayal and political intrigue. The so-called doctors’ strike saga of the 1970s and 1980s was a squalid affair indeed and this from all angles.

He was used, then abused and, finally, dumped...- José A. Herrera

It is not my purpose in this contribution to impute blame on one side or the other of this polemic. This will surely be established when taking into account the historical perspective in due course.

For some, the said strike was a genuine legitimate form of industrial action. For others, however, it was interpreted as a form of political sabotage orchestrated by the then Nationalist opposition.

The truth may be somewhere in the middle. Whatever the case, many were the casualties.

Undoubtedly, the then medical practitioners and medical students, caught as they were in the middle of all the upheaval, suffered great hardship. The vast majority of them had to reallocate abroad, mostly in the UK, and still bear the scars.

On the other hand, patients in Malta at the time suffered the dire consequences of a shortage of medical personnel and expertise resulting from the said exodus.

This industrial action would always be remembered as unique not merely on account of its duration but primarily due to its ripple effect and political connotations. Involved in this strike were others hailing from other sectors of the medical sphere who either voluntarily or because they were enticed decided to also strike out of sympathy.

Caught up in this tragic episode was University professor and the former head of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Anthony Jaccarini. Though the learned professor would have had no direct interest in the affair, either out of sympathy, because of peer pressure or both, he ended up joining the strikers, thereby relinquishing his prestigious University post and having to seek work abroad.

It was far from easy back then to shy away from taking industrial action if one hailed from the medical establishment. To do so would brand you a strike breaker, leaving you socially ostracised and blacklisted. Unquestionably, a lot of prominent politicians were involved in lobbying for the success of the strike. It is no great secret that many promises were made, some to be later honoured while others to be capriciously forgotten. Foremost among the casualties was surely Prof. Jaccarini.

It would have been absurd to imagine that in order to encourage him to join the ranks of those involved in the industrial struggle he would have been given assurances and guarantees from certain politicians of the time.

Once returned to government, the Nationalist Party quickly struck an agreement with the Medical Association of Malta, the doctors’ union, whereby all those who had lost their employment as a result of the dispute were entitled to full reinstatement.

The agreement was also made applicable to the University.

In due course, Prof. Jaccarini, as well as others, applied for his reinstatement but, incredulously, his request was callously and persistently denied, this even after a favourable recommendation by the Permanent Commission Against Injustice.

It would take him another 25 years to vindicate himself and this only after a judgement delivered on June 1 by the civil courts in an action he had brought against former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, former ministers Louis Galea and Ugo Mifsud Bonnici and former University rector Fr Peter Serracino Inglott.

Prof. Jaccarini was finally awarded €250,000 in damages.

In computing the damages, the court took into consideration the psychological trauma Prof. Jaccarini was forced to endure and this is a statement in itself.

For Prof. Jaccarini, this closure may have perhaps come far too late because, now, like those of his generation, he is in his twilight years. For others, however, Mr Justice Silvio Meli’s decision is nothing less than monumental.

The story does not end there. There are undertones in this very sordid affair.

As it happened, the person selected to replace Prof. Jaccarini under the newly-elected Nationalist Administration was none other than Fr Serracino Inglott’s own brother.

It is no big secret, far from it, that the former University rector was a top PN acolyte and a confidant of both the Prime Minister and the Education Minister of the time. Further comments in this regard are superfluous.

The way Prof. Jaccarini was treated by the Nationalists in government is simply unacceptable. He was used, then abused and, finally, dumped by those very same people whom he had so dearly trusted and who had earlier portrayed themselves to be nothing less than his heroes.

Dr Herrera is shadow justice minister.