Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1281593
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 AUGUST 2020 NEWS ZONE 11 October 2020 Naxxar, Għargħur ZONE 12 October 2020 Swieqi, Pembroke, Paceville ZONE 13 October 2020 Mosta, Attard, Imġarr ZONE 14 November 2020 Birkirkara, Balzan, Iklin, Lija ZONE 15 November 2020 Marsaskala, Fgura UK Residency Card Application Dates Identity Malta Agency will be reaching out to all potential beneficiaries who held a valid residence document on 1 st February 2020. Applicants would need to fill in the form and submit a copy of the documents requested to the Expatriates Unit in Valley Road, Msida on the dates indicated in the letter that they will be receiving (excluding public holidays). It is important to present this letter when applying for the new residency document. Applicants residing in Gozo should apply at the eResidence Unit in St. Francis Square, Victoria Gozo. Applicants will be issued with a 10 year residence document once the status is confirmed. 2 1 ZONE 8 03/08/2020 - 04/09/2020 St. Paul's Bay GOZO August - October 2020 Nadur Rabat Qala ZONE 9 September 2020 Qormi, Siġġiewi, Luqa, Żebbuġ, Dingli, Imtarfa, Rabat, Mdina ZONE 10 September - October 2020 St. Julian's, Sliema Applicants will be notified by post with the exact submission dates T: +356 2590 4000 W: www.identitymalta.com E (Malta): brexit.ima@gov.mt E (Gozo): eresidence-brexit.mgoz@gov.mt - - - 11/09/2020 25/10/2020 09/10/2020 31/08/2020 07/09/2020 22/09/2020 MATTHEW VELLA ALLIED health professionals whose industrial action this week was called off on Friday said they had been frus- trated by delays in talks for a renewed collective agreement, that were stalled twice by the 2019 political crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Talks for the updating of their 2013 collective agreement had been ongoing since 2017, but months of negotiations had led nowhere. Only towards the end of 2019 were both parties – the govern- ment and the UHM – heading back on track to negotiations, when the political crisis which prompted the resignation of Joseph Muscat, kicked in. Yet when the union was given anoth- er date for negotiations in March 2020, this was cancelled due to COVID-19. One speech-language pathologist who represents her section at the UHM, said that while the industrial actions of last week had impacted upon patients, their demands were reasonable and impor- tant for the roles they carry out in hos- pital and community care. "The 2013 agreement ensured satis- factory wages, which in turn encourages people to take up our professions. But with our current work- ing conditions and salaries this is not happening and it has led to a huge vacuum of human resources, with no staff to cover for others. "Better conditions ensure that each individ- ual progresses and special- izes and is continuously up to date with changes in medicine to ensure the best interventions to our patients." Allied health professionals comprise audiologists, biomedical scientists, dental hygienists and technologists, oc- cupational therapists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, radiographers and speech language pathologists. Together, these professionals form part of a chain of staff inside hospitals whose work affects health out- comes for various patients, as well those brought in for emergency or elective surgery, and for their re- covery afterwards. "We work auton- omously and to- gether with doc- tors and nurses to ensure patients receive the best medical care… we deal with peoples' lives. One mistake and our patient can die. A wrong diagnosis may result in inappropriate treatment," the speech-language pathologist said. The therapist also said that when COVID-19 pushed Malta into lock- down, allied health union stewards parked the collective agreement. "We put on our scrubs, worked long shifts in very uncomfortable clothing; some of us were seeing patients, others volunteered to work exclusively with COVID-positive patients in so called 'dirty areas', while others volunteered in wards and swabbing centres. "But we also rented out other plac- es and we did not see our families and children for months. All the while we worked under duress with a bug we knew little about, adjusting to ev- er-changing protocols, and getting paid as health professionals on the rates of 2013 – the majority of us, profession- als with masters degrees, earn less than €1,500 a month." The therapist said that at the end of the "war on COVID", the union had re- quested that negotiations resume. "Unfortunately, six weeks into the meetings, we were left with no other choice but to remind the government of how essential we are, unfortunately to the detriment of our patients." Patience runs out for health workers denied decent wages