Failure to respect "safety net measures" agreed upon with the government has led doctors to the current dispute with the government, the Medical Association of Malta said on Monday.
In a statement to justify its industrial action, the MAM said it had been consistent on insisting that principles come before profit since 2015.
The doctors’ union is at loggerheads with the government over the way St Luke’s, Karin Grech and Gozo hospitals were transferred to Vitals Global Healthcare and how the concession was now being transferred to Steward Health Care.
Speaking on Sunday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the government was willing to give certain assurances to MAM for the €200 million private sector investment to move forward.
MAM said that back in 2015 it had publicly objected to the Vitals deals, for two main reasons. These were the operator’s complete lack of experience and the dangers of the government relinquishing its control of management and the resulting profit motive.
At that time, it said, the contracts were completely secret.
Then, MAM and the government had embarked on efforts to draw up an agreement on Vitals but following the Panama Papers implicating then Health Minister Konrad Mizzi and revelations of the hidden ownership of Vitals, the union withdrew from the negotiations.
In December 2016, MAM, together with the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, wrote to the Public Accounts Committee which subsequently asked the Auditor General to investigate the contracts.
However, the investigation was not given priority.
In May 2017, in an annex to the new collective agreement, a number of “safety net” measures on privatisation, including the need of a six-week notice were agreed upon.
“It is the failure to respect these safety net measures which has led the current dispute,” MAM said.