Government and nurses halfway to agreement - MUMN
The government and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) are around halfway to reaching an agreement on the union’s demands for nurses and midwives, the general secretary of the MUMN, Colin Galea, has confirmed with The Malta Independent.
The MUMN issued a set of directives last week which will come into force tomorrow if no agreement is reached. These directives were issued following what the union called a lack of sensitivity on the part of the government towards the situation of nurses and midwives in Malta and Gozo.
They were also prompted by the government not heeding a number of the union’s demands, specifically those relating to an early retirement scheme, nursing premiums and some salary compensations.
The nursing force is facing major shortages, according to the union, which has cited numerous examples from medical areas such as Mount Carmel Hospital where not enough nurses are available to keep constant watch on patients; numerous operating theatres, where several operations are being cancelled; and in ITU where the internationally established ratio of one nurse for every patient is very rarely adhered to.
The directives that nurses and midwives will follow on Thursday if no agreement is reached are comprehensive and far-reaching, and include measures relating to washing patients, answering patients’ calls and transferring patients for elective surgery, except for mothers scheduled to undergo a caesarean section.
Contacted by this newsroom, Galea said that the union had met Minister for Health Chris Fearne and both the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry for Health Joseph Rapa and the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry for Family, Children’s Rights and Social Solidarity Mark Musu’ in recent days to discuss their demands.
There had been movement in the discussions, Galea said, but not enough to suspend the directives. When asked how close the union and government were to an agreement, Galea said that they were around “halfway” there, with further meetings to be held over the coming days.
This is not the first time that the medical sector has seen industrial action take place. Action was only narrowly averted last February and October, but strikes were carried out at St Vincent De Paul Hospital some months ago over conditions of work and staff complement. The Medical Association of Malta has also had issues with the government over the past months, specifically relating to the transfer of St Luke’s Hospital, Karen Grech Hospital and Gozo General Hospital to Steward Healthcare, with industrial action taken last February.