Nurses’ union: no influenza vaccine unless meal allowance, leave issues are resolved

MUMN says no members will administer influenza vaccine if meal allowance and leave issues not resolved

Nurses union boss Paul Pace says his members are being treated like second-class citizens. Photo: Ray Attard
Nurses union boss Paul Pace says his members are being treated like second-class citizens. Photo: Ray Attard

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) will instruct its members not to administer the influenza vaccine from 10 October, if issues over meal allowances and vacation leave are resolved.

The MUMN said primary health workers had gripes on meals and their 16 hours’ vacation leave for those working on over eight-hour shifts.

“MUMN has to fight for the rights of all its members [but] other unions sat back and piggybacked on MUMN’s achievements to obtain the meal allowances for their members, while MUMN members had to resort to industrial directives to obtain these allowances,” MUMN boss Paul Pace said.

MUMN said any directives would only be issued as a last resort.

“If PHC workers want their meal allowance so as to be as their counterparts in Malta and Gozo and if nurses, midwives ECG technicians want to acquire the 16 hours of vacation leave, which were after all taken away from them, directives have to be followed, otherwise there would be no meal allowances to PHC and vacation leave hours. We should all stand up and be counted for and now is the time,” Pace said.

MUMN said other unions such as the GWU are proposing a financial package for civil servants which would include, teleworking, paying of rent, telephone bills and electricity bills, be included in the next budget.

The union said its members are frontliners in the fight against COVID-19 but were being totally ignored by the administration.