Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1496971
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 APRIL 2023 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "After months of negotiations on a new sectoral agreement for midwives and nurses during which 13 meetings were held, the government has asked for a conciliation process to kick off in terms of the civil service col- lective agreement," the ministry said. It added that the government has improved its pay proposals, offering "significant increases" to nurses and midwives, without elaborating. The meeting was requested for 3:30pm today. It remains to be seen whether the MUMN will turn up. But speaking to this newspaper yesterday, Pace insisted there was no need for mediation. "You attend a reconciliation meeting when either of the parties shut the door to talks and this has not happened. If the ministry asks us to meet we will willingly attend but we expect it to come to us with proposals that meet our de- mands." The MUMN ordered wide- spread industrial action in March, claiming there was no money for nurses as talks on a new collective agreement stalled. The action has resulted in a number of medical appoint- ments and surgical interventions being postponed, while hospital patients are not being cared for as expected. Conciliatory meeting is last- ditch attempt Sources close to government told MaltaToday that the latest proposals put forward by the ministry equated to a pay packet increase that was more than dou- ble the increase nurses got five years ago when the last sectoral agreement was reached. The latest government propos- als were put forward during a meeting held with the MUMN last week but the sources said the union rejected the offer. "The conciliatory meeting is a last-ditch attempt to salvage the talks before government con- templates any court action to safeguard patients' wellbeing," the sources said. But Pace insisted that govern- ment's latest proposal still leaves nurses as "the least paid health- care professionals in Malta". He then listed several grievanc- es nurses had, including the fact that they work 46 hours per week without being paid overtime, los- ing allowances that boost pay after 15 days of sick leave, and waiting three years for the rela- tive pay packet to kick in when nurses are promoted to a higher managerial scale. Another anomaly, Pace added, was that nurses with a degree started at Scale 10 whereas in all other government jobs, people with a degree started at Scale 9. Surgeons give scathing verdict on nurses' actions Meanwhile, Malta's surgeons issued a scathing verdict on the MUMN's industrial actions, which have led to surgical oper- ations being cancelled over the past three weeks. "With the union's directives, the situation is even worse," the Association of Surgeons of Malta said in a statement on Tuesday. Referring to Pace's statement attacking medical consultants' working practices, the ASM said that only one-third of Mater Dei Hospital consultants were also doing private practice. "Before the nursing union's directives, operation lists in theatre were never stopped or cancelled half- way because there were no con- sultants to do the surgery but because of MUMN instructions that discouraged nurses to con- tinue working after 5pm." The ASM said the situation was now worse. "Workers from all walks of life have a right to follow their union's directives. Howev- er, they shoulder the responsibil- ity of their actions and be aware of the inevitable collateral dam- age that will occur causing harm to patients whom we are privi- leged to be looking after." The union is proposing sev- eral measures to improve work conditions for its members, in- cluding higher pensions and a reduced tax rate on overtime. The measures are expected to cost millions in taxpayer funds and have been rejected by the government. Pace had said the package pro- posed by the union would cost around €75 million and not the €120 million government has in- timated. Government must put forward proper proposals, PN says In reaction to the Health Min- istry's request, the Nationalist Party insists that the government must put forward adequate pro- posals for nurses and midwives. "The government cannot make a scapegoat of workers who are asking for what they deserve and working to better their work conditions to make the sector more attractive." The party accused government of dragging their feet on the sec- toral agreement for nurses and midwives and on the €400 mil- lion paid to Steward Healthcare to operate three local hospitals. "The Nationalist Party will stand shoulder to shoulder with the workers so that they can get what they deserve and they can continue to offer the best servic- es to Maltese and Gozitan pa- tients." Conciliatory meeting is last-ditch attempt before court action Government's latest proposal still leaves nurses as the least paid healthcare professionals in Malta - Paul Pace MUMN action outside the Prime Minister's office on 27 March