The Malta Union of Midwives & Nurses today ordered industrial action after the Ministry of Health interfered and halted the implementation of a new roster within a number of wards at the Gozo General Hospital.
Speaking at a press conference outside the hospital, which falls under the management of Vitals Global Healthcare, MUMN General Secretary Colin Galea said that a refusal to acknowledge and implement the new system by 5 February will result in a set of directives, starting with the Operating theatre.
He explained that the union was due to start using a new roster yesterday after reaching an agreement with VGH.
"However, we have been informed that the management has since received a call from the Ministry of Health and the implementation was stopped," he said.
"MUMN will not accept this situation. Every time there is an agreement, MUMN honours it and we expect the management to do the same. This is an ugly precedent and it will leave a black mark on the relationship between MUMN and the hospital's management."
"The management of this hospital is under the responsibility of VGH and at no time should there have been any ministerial interference. In these past two years, MUMN had a number of meetings and agreements on multiple issues, and the management never went back on their word."
This call for industrial action comes after Medical Association of Malta (MAM) registered a trade dispute with the government of Malta in view of the breach of the collective agreement over the VGH deal with Steward Healthcare.
The Nationalist Party has also filed a judicial protest over the situation.
VGH, the company which was entrusted with the provision of healthcare services through the Gozo, Karin Grech and St Luke's hospitals, has been at the centre of controversy after selling its 30-year concession to the American company only 21 months after securing a deal with the Maltese government.
It would appear that the alleged ministerial interference may be related to the sale.
The price of the sale of the concession is still unknown. Reliable and well-informed sources have since told the newsroom that VGH was forced into a sale due to mounting financial difficulty and that Minister Mizzi had known about the state of affairs for an entire year prior to the announcement.
Mizzi has been reluctant to provide any information, telling the newsroom to pose these questions "to the seller" despite being reminded of the public's growing concern over the deal.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2nri87D
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