The Health Ministry has made an announcement that negotiations for a new sectoral agreement for nurses will be discussed before a three-person panel as part of a conciliation meeting. This decision is intended to ensure normal service resumes at Mater Dei Hospital and other state-run medical facilities while negotiations with the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) continue. Conciliation meetings are a means of resolving industrial disputes with the help of mutually agreed upon mediators, and are provided for in the public sector collective agreement that also applies to nurses.
The MUMN had issued directives in March, and intensified them in April, which forced several hospital services to come to a halt, upsetting patients and in some cases prompting doctors to warn that potentially life-impacting procedures were being postponed. While the union is not required to suspend its directives during conciliation meetings, the ministry hopes it will do so “in the spirit of good faith” and to safeguard patients’ health.
Negotiations for a new sectoral agreement between the nursing union and government started last summer, and they have since met 13 times. The main bone of contention is understood to revolve around nurses’ salaries, with the government’s current offer being more than double the salary increases agreed upon in 2018. The conciliation meeting, chaired by lawyer John Bonello, is among the dispute mechanisms provided for by the public sector’s collective agreement and must be held within eight days of being called, with both parties obliged to attend. If the mediation fails or if the MUMN refuses to suspend hospital directives while negotiations proceed, the government could choose to head to court and request an injunction.
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