Doctors among Gozo hospital staff seeking to leave union and join nurses

Updated to add MAM, UHM comments

Doctors, technicians and nursing aides working at the Gozo General Hospital are among some 100 healthcare professionals seeking to leave their respective unions to join the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses.

MaltaToday is informed that the workers, who are currently represented by the Medical Association of Malta and the UHM – Voice of the Workers, have approached the nurses’ union after complaining that the their union was “not representing” their needs.

Workers speaking to MaltaToday on the condition of anonymity complained that they felt “betrayed” by the MAM and UHM for pushing forward arguments on the privatization of the Gozo hospital, which in their words went beyond the interest of the workers. 

The two unions have approached the Public Accounts Committee to conduct an investigation into the privatization deal which the government signed with Vitals Global Healthcare, granting it a 30-year concession to run the Gozo General Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital and Karin Grech Hospital. The two unions have raised questions on the owners of VGH, and went on to request the Auditor General to examine the financial aspect of the agreement.

However, when asked whether it was in their own interest to ensure the financial stability of the concessionaires, the workers argued that they felt that the unions had gone a step too far. They reiterated that their employer would remain the government, thus they would remain registered as public workers with all the collective agreements and such being respected. 

Contacted by MaltaToday, MUMN secretary general Colin Galea confirmed that several workers, doctors included, had contacted the union seeking representation. 

“We will first hold a meeting with these workers later on this month and then the council will discuss the request and decide accordingly,” Galea said. 

Asked whether it would be possible for the MUMN to represent the doctors, Galea said it was up to the council to decide. He went on to add that an amendment to the statute allows doctors to join the MUMN, as the union’s statute was worded to represent healthcare professionals.

Galea rubbished claims that the workers’ switch may be politically motivated: “To have doctors coming to us is already a huge step… a decision which they definitely did not take lightly.”

He said that the unions’ agreement signed with the government was one to protect the status quo: “Anything which we have today with regard to workers’ rights will be respected.”

“I don’t want to generalize but when doctors look at the names that will be coming to Malta, and the opening of the Barts Medical School, they know that they, and the patients, will benefit from this investment,” Galea added.

Galea argued that the healthcare professionals were looking forward to working in a state-of-the-art hospital which would improve service for both patients and workers.

“In reality, the hospital will be privately managed whilst the workers will remain government employees.”

Some 300 workers currently work at the Gozo General Hospital. 

The VGH deal has been presented for full scrutiny to the Auditor General, after which it will be discussed by the parliamentary public accounts
committee.

In a reaction on Thursday morning, MAM secretary general Martin Balzan said that the association was “experiencing record levels of membership of doctors both in Malta and Gozo”.

“[Memberships are] soon approaching a 1,000 members with an overall representation of 90% of employed doctors, compared to a national average of union membership of around 30% for all workers,” Balzan said.

He added that MAM only accepted registered medical practitioners as members.

In a brief press statement issued in the afternoon, the UHM accused the MUMN of “being used by the government to hinder the work of the union as it tries to defend workers’ interests”.