The Labour party’s spokesperson for the elderly yesterday skirted the issue of whether industrial actions across state hospitals have been “unjust” to elderly residents in homes where nurses are without aides to wash residents and help get them out of bed.
Instead, Labour MP Silvio Parnis – a health supervisor at the Rabat health centre where actions are also taking place – laid the onus of the industrial actions at the government’s door for allowing the dispute to escalate.
Parnis yesterday claimed he continued with his normal duties at the Rabat health centre throughout the actions, ordered by the General Workers Union last Friday to nursing aides, health assistants and care workers at state hospitals, homes for the elderly, and health centres.
The workers were ordered to only do food-related jobs, including handing out breakfast, tea and coffee, leaving nurses unable to cope with all the patients.
Parnis told MaltaToday he is not participating in the actions ordered by the GWU – which do not cover health supervisors – and that he is not a member of any union.
“The workers have taken these actions after years awaiting some consideration from government on their working conditions,” the MLP’s spokesperson for the elderly said when asked if he believed the actions, which have negatively affected residents at the St Vincent de Paule home for the elderly, were justified.
“A responsible government would have done its utmost not to ignore any group of workers. It is apparent that government has slept on this industrial dispute. A responsible government has to strive towards industrial agreement, especially when the elderly and vulnerable people are involved.”
He added that in the present circumstances, government is now duty-bound to resolve this issue in the shortest time possible, and implement an emergency plan as long as the actions continue.
Part of the job of the nursing aides following directives entails assisting nurses to wash and change patients and help them out of bed. St Vincent de Paule was the worst affected because of the high number of bedridden patients, spurring the government to call on relatives to give a helping hand.
Nurses’ union president Paul Pace said nurses were worn out since they could not cope with tending to all the patients at SVDP where residents are still being washed, changed and given their medication.
The union also ordered its members at St Luke’s Hospital’s outpatient department and health centres not to process medical files or X-Rays, while health centre employees are not taking appointments.
The union ordered directives because of nursing aides’ claimed right to wage scale 13, disagreement over their roster and their demand for a premium allowance for the three categories.