MUMN registers an industrial dispute with Steward Health Care in Gozo

MUMN cannot accept that Steward Health Care did not abide to an agreement reached between the Health Department, Steward Health Care and MUMN.

It is not acceptable that Steward Health Care is going to employ foreign nurses at Gozo General Hospital when Gozitan nurses are working in Malta waiting to be transferred to GGH.

MUMN expects that Steward Health Care is to abide to the social aspect of the island of Gozo as to avoid the suffering of countless Gozitans who have no choice but to come to work or study in Malta on a daily basis.

Employing foreign nurses to work in GGH is an insult and shows great lack of respect not just to the nurses from Gozo but to all the people who live in Gozo. It shows that Steward Health Care is just a cold-blooded organisation which has still not adopted nor is concerned of the families living in Gozo.

Regardless who is in government, both the PN and the PL, always respected that nurses from Gozo are to work in Gozo. In fact an official list exists so that all nurses from Gozo would know when it is their turn to be transferred from Malta to Gozo. Such list has always been accessible to all nurses from Gozo and a strict order is maintained. Steward has broken a longstanding practice upheld by all administrations by ignoring such transfer list and employ foreign nurses to GGH.

MUMN contacted Steward Health Care to avoid this dispute but it was in vain. MUMN would not accept such employment of foreign patients and several directives will be issued in all wards in GGH which will affect the service of the whole hospital including the Downtown Hotel where elderly patients are being nursed instead of the long-awaited elderly home of San Guzepp where the construction work has been halted for these last months. No nursing care on query cases on COVID cases will take place neither any services related to COVID will continue in Gozo General Hospital.

MUMN will not rest until such nurses are retracted and Gozo nurses are transferred to Gozo Hospital. MUMN expects that it is the role of the Prime Minister who surely has the interest of the Gozo families at heart to intervene as to stop Steward Health Care from deploying such foreign nurses. Hopefully the Prime Minister takes the necessary action and show to the people of Gozo that his Office truly cares for Gozitan families.