Government & Politics
Talks on hospitals' industrial actions continue
By MaltaMedia News
Aug 16, 2007 - 6:41:10 PM

No agreement was sought in a two-hour meeting between the government and the General Workers Union (GWU) tackling industrial actions ordered to nursing aides in all Maltese hospitals and health centres. The industrial actions were suspended for three weeks on Tuesday to serve as a cooling-off period in the light of pending issues concerning health workers’ jobs.  

Despite reaching no agreement, both sides described the meeting as “cordial”.  Further meetings are expected to take place in the coming days.  

The industrial actions ordered to almost 900 nursing aides, health assistants, care workers and assistant care workers in all Maltese and Gozitan hospitals and health centres, affects 3,000 patients.   

The actions began on the 3rd August after the GWU was informed that the Division and the Office of the Prime Minister were only prepared to consider making changes to the number of working hours and would not change their stance on the workers’ premium allowances and the jobs' scale 13.