MUMN takes pay proposals it has rejected to nurses, suspends industrial action

The MUMN is upping the ante by asking members to vote on government pay proposals it already rejected • Industrial action to be suspended from 7am on Thursday • Nurses and midwives to vote on Tuesday

MUMN President Paul Pace (left) and Health Minister Chris Fearne
MUMN President Paul Pace (left) and Health Minister Chris Fearne

Updated at 2:34pm with MUMN seeking members' vote on proposals

The nurses’ union will ask members to vote on the pay proposals put forward by the government in a significant twist to the ongoing dispute.

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said on Wednesday afternoon it will be suspending all industrial action from 7am on Thursday pending the outcome of the vote.

The announcement was made an hour before a scheduled mediation meeting called by the Health Ministry, which the union had called “useless”.

The latest development is not the result of any agreement but is MUMN’s way of seeking greater legitimacy for its actions from its members. The proposals the MUMN would be asking members to vote on are those presented by the government on 6 April, which the union had already rejected.

The extraordinary general conference is expected to take place on Tuesday, 18 April, and union members will be given a copy of government's proposal before being asked whether to accept or reject the package. If the package is rejected, nurses and midwives will have to decide what industrial action to pursue.

“The MUMN notes that the government has continued to burry its head in the sand and does not want to resolve the dispute,” the union said. “Government has even described the proposed package as ‘strong proposals’ and ‘will give nurses and midwives the best conditions they ever had’. Now, it will be the nurses and midwives themselves who will decide whether this is so,” the MUMN said.

It said the ministry’s insistence to go for mediation rather than propose an improved package was a sign that the government had shut the door on nurses and midwives.

READ ALSO: Blog | A young nurse’s lament: Where are the people who clapped for us during COVID?

The Commissioner for Health in the Office of the Ombudsman commended MUMN for suspending its directives, insisting that patients' needs must be prioritised.

Earlier the union said it will not be attending the conciliation meeting requested by the Health Ministry after collective agreement talks stalled.

The ministry called the meeting for 3:30pm today in line with a dispute resolution mechanism provided by the civil service collective agreement.

Nurses have been carrying out industrial action since March, a situation that has led to the postponement of certain surgeries and medical interventions.

However, in a terse statement on Wednesday morning, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses accused the ministry of doing a U-turn on what it promised at the last meeting held on 6 April.

“During the meeting, government informed the MUMN it was ready to discuss the sectoral agreement at Cabinet level to seek additional funding and the union was ready to suspend all its directives when the proposals go up to Cabinet level,” the union said, adding that instead the ministry chose to go for a conciliation meeting.

“It is crystal clear that the government made a U-turn and decided to go for a conciliation meeting that has no authority to seek additional funding as promised by the health officials in our last meeting,” the union said.

It insisted that mediation was not necessary since neither party had shut the door on further talks. However, the union said that if government was considering its last set of proposals presented on 6 April as the final offer it should state so.

“If this is the case, MUMN is ready to suspend its directives and summon its 4,000 members to approve or disapprove these last proposals. The same nurses and midwives in the Extraordinary General Conference will then decide what action to take,” the MUMN said.

If, however, the proposals put forward by the government last week are not final, the union said the ministry should “immediately” send its improved proposals for consideration by the union’s members.

“It is now time to terminate the numerous meetings and for the government to show its true colours by confirming its final proposals to all nurses and midwives. The Government should stop beating around the bush and not hide behind any conciliator,” the MUMN said.

Government will not tolerate harm to patients

In reaction to the MUMN’s statement, the Health Ministry insisted that any harm to patients as a result of the industrial action will not be accepted.

“MUMN’s actions are putting at risk all that has been achieved at the negotiating table till now,” it said in a statement.

The ministry insisted that it has brought forward several proposals throughout the negotiating process, but MUMN kept refusing these proposals capriciously.

“MUMN is jeopardising the interests of its own members and therefore the next step should conciliation.”

Dispute over pay packet

The MUMN has made several proposals, including higher allowances across the board, a one-time COVID allowance, a flat 10% rate on overtime and the removal of capping on pensions.

MaltaToday had reported that the 30 proposals put forward by the MUMN would increase the nurses’ wage bill by more than €130 million over five years.

However, MUMN President Paul Pace had disputed the figures insisting the union’s proposals amounted to an increase of around €75 million.

Government has so far refrained from commenting on the cost of the union’s proposals. The Health Ministry has also been coy about the cost of its own counterproposals saying only that it was offering “significant increases” to nurses and midwives.

Sources close to the government have suggested that the increase government has so far offered nurses is more than double the increase agreed to five years ago.

The union has insisted nurses and midwives will remain the lowest paid professionals in the healthcare system.

The sectoral agreement for nurses and midwives expired in December 2022 and talks for a new five-year agreement started in the summer of 2022.

Actions hit patients

Meanwhile, pressure has been building on both sides to reach an amicable settlement as patients feel the brunt of industrial action.

On Wednesday, the Commissioner for Health in the Ombudsman’s office appealed for a resolution to the ongoing dispute.

Health Commissioner Raymond Galea emphasised the importance of balancing worker rights and employer responsibilities and encouraged both parties to prioritise patient welfare. 

“It is unacceptable that patients are made to suffer because of an industrial dispute,” Galea said, extending his offer to facilitate a prompt and fair resolution to the dispute.

Patients have had their hospital appointments cancelled while scheduled surgeries have had to be postponed because of directives for nurses not to attend non-urgent operations.

Nurses have also been instructed not to wash bed-bound patients.

The situation has ruffled feathers and on Tuesday, the association of surgeons said nurses must shoulder responsibility of their actions’ harm to patients