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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 APRIL 2023 Deals are struck at the negotiation table Editorial NURSES believe they have a bad deal when it comes to working conditions and pay-packets. They are certainly not alone, within the public service, in feeling their work is under-appreciated; but that is a subject for another day. Since March, nurses and midwives have been fol- lowing industrial action ordered by their union, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, after a break- down in sectoral agreement talks. These actions were suspended last Thursday, pending an extraor- dinary general conference called by the MUMN: during which members will be asked whether they will endorse or reject government's counter-propos- als. This newspaper will certainly not argue against the right of workers to take industrial action; and nurses are no exception. Industrial action is, at times, a necessary measure of last resort. The whole point is to cause disruption, to eventually force in- transigent employers into reaching a compromise. Unfortunately, however, industrial action in the healthcare system is always going to be controver- sial: because the ultimate sufferers are patients – people who are at their most vulnerable. Any action by nurses and midwives must there- fore be judicious; but the management of the im- pacted public hospitals and clinics must not use the ongoing industrial action as an excuse, to justify shortcomings within the system. This is why, in the best interest of patients, both the MUMN and government need to adopt a more level-headed approach to the issue. The MUMN, for instance, must be more reasonable in its demands. Asking for nurses' two-thirds pensions to be un- capped is an obvious no-go area. It would cause un- told pressure on public finances, and create discrim- ination among public and private sector employees. If anything, such a proposal should be discussed as a separate issue: as part of a broader national discussion on pensions. Likewise, asking for a flat overtime tax rate makes little sense: because it would create discrimination between different categories of government employ- ees. Moreover, some of MUMN's arguments are non-sequiturs. Union officials have complained that nurses and midwives lose their allowances after 15 days of sick leave. This is not a phenomenon tied to the nursing profession, but a clause that forms part of the civil service collective agreement. It applies to all public-sector employees, including teachers and LSEs. It is unfair to foist such an argument onto an un- suspecting public, to gain sympathy. Nonetheless, the union is certainly right when it argues against the current system, that sees nurses having to work 46.6 hours per week, rather than 40 hours, without those 6.6 hours being remunerated as overtime. But it must bear in mind that government has a duty to ensure that pay packages are sustainable, and do not end up a burden on public coffers. It is fine to argue that no such consideration was made when government signed off three state hospitals to Steward Health Care, and got nothing in return. But it is wrong to stick to a position that simply disregards the need for sustainable public finances, altogether. MUMN is also right that the nursing profession is a crucial cog in Malta's healthcare system, and must be valued accordingly. The Health Ministry should realise that, unless the salaries and condi- tions of nurses and midwives improve substantially, the country will continue facing a drain of human resources. There is a lot of excess 'fat' in the government sys- tem, that could be shaved off to make up for better wages and conditions in key areas. But improve- ments must also be registered across the whole spectrum: with allowances that encourage people to join the nursing profession; and others that encour- age existing nurses to stay. It is only fair, too, that government honours all the promises it made during the COVID pandemic: including that nurses would be remunerated gen- erously, when their sectoral agreement came up for discussion. After all, we did call them our 'heroes' at the time. As for the 46-hour work week anomaly: govern- ment should fix this without delay, as it had done with the Police Force in 2018. Nurses should work a 40-hour week; and any additional hours worked above that must be paid at overtime rates. The ministry should also ditch its attempts to introduce a palm reader to record employee hours: unless this is done for all healthcare workers, in- cluding doctors and consultants. Above all, however, both sides must not forget that the impasse is only exacerbating the suffering of patients; who will not be understanding, when their long-awaited surgical or medical appointments get cancelled for the umpteenth time. Their anger is, in fact, quite justifiable; and if things get worse, both nurses and government will end up losing the public's trust: given their com- bined duty to ensure that Malta's healthcare services continue running smoothly. Both sides, then, have an interest in putting aside their warmongering and getting down to work on a package that is both generous and sustainable. At the end of the day, the negotiation table is the only place where such deals can be struck. 16 April 2013 Banks held in high regard in Malta BANKS in Malta retain a high degree of con- fidence from their Maltese clients: while a massive 70% of Maltese think that their banks are making an effort to be socially responsible, only 34% of Europeans agree. This emerged from a December 2012 Eu- robarometer survey among 500 respondents in each EU country. Significantly, the survey shows the Maltese on top of the list of Europeans who judge their banks positively, followed by 62% of Finnish and 60% of Lithuanian respondents. In stark contrast, 17% of Spanish and 18% of Italian respondents agree. This discrepancy between Malta and the rest of Europe can be attributed to the fact that Maltese banks have been largely im- mune to the global financial crisis, while in other countries, banks have been blamed for the crisis. The Maltese are generally more likely than other Europeans to think that businesses in their country behave in a socially responsible way. But they make one important excep- tion: construction firms. The survey also confirmed one exceptional Maltese trait: a high regard for the country's banking sector. In contrast, a majority of Maltese (52%) think construction firms do not make any ef- forts to behave responsibly. Only 40% think that construction firms behave responsibly. In the rest of the EU, 49% think that con- struction firms make an effort to behave responsibly. The Belgians (66%) were the most likely to think that construction companies are mak- ing efforts to behave responsibly towards society, as do 64% of Dutch and 63% of Lux- embourgish respondents. Only 23% of Slove- nian and 30% of Spanish respondents agreed. Fewer than half of the respondents in each EU country think that mining and oil and gas companies are making efforts to behave responsibly towards society. The Maltese are among the most skeptical (31%). Polish respondents are the most likely to agree (48%), followed by the Portuguese and Danish (both at 47%). ... Quote of the Week "I feel slightly ridiculous having to make these arguments, because it is axiomatic that an organisation named Birdlife, that works in the conservation sphere, has a juridical interest in these proceedings." Lawyer Martin Farrugia representing BirdLife in court proceedings to stop the spring hunting of turtle doves, arguing against the State Advocate's attempt to kick the organisation out of the case MaltaToday 10 years ago