A group of some 200 doctors have petitioned their union to hold an extraordinary general meeting, demanding a vote of no-confidence in the union leadership.
In a letter sent to the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) committee on Friday, the doctors requested an EGM within ten days "to address serious concerns regarding governance, communication and recent actions by the leadership.
"We also request that a vote of no confidence in the current leadership be included in the agenda," the letter seen by Times of Malta says.
MAM president Martin Balzan hit back in comments to Times of Malta, saying only 140 of the 1,100 union members had signed the letter and their issues were unrelated to the current directives. He also denied governance issues or any misuse of power.
The MAM is currently in dispute with the government over plans for patients to be transferred from the Mater Dei Hospital emergency department to private hospitals in order to reduce caseload and waiting time for patients.
The union has ordered its members not to refer patients from Mater Dei to private hospitals, citing a lack of consultation by the government. The government has denied the claim, with Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela saying that the union had gone to war against the government because its president Martin Balzan did not get a promotion at Mater Dei.
On Friday, the union warned it would be “escalating” its directives after a meeting with the government about understaffed health centres went sour.
Times of Malta first revealed the details of the doctors' letter to the MAM on Sunday, when it reported that around 200 doctors had requested an emergency union meeting due to “disgruntlement within the profession”.
It was subsequently revealed that the doctors were demanding a vote of no confidence in the union leadership.
In their letter the doctors complained that: "Recent industrial action, which indirectly targets an individual without clear justification, risks division within the membership and reflects a misuse of power."
"These actions undermine MAM's credibility and erode trust in its leadership."
They said the EGM was also necessary after the union breached its statutory obligations by failing to hold an annual general meeting in 2023 and 2024.
They also cited discontent about "insufficient communication" regarding their collective agreements.They alleged that the current agreement "institutionalised unequal working conditions".
The doctors set a ten-day ultimatum for their request to be met, saying it was the limit set by the union statute.
The union on Tuesday was holding a Q&A session with its members
No governance issues, no plans for an EGM - Martin Balzan
Speaking to Times of Malta before the meeting, Balzan said there were no plans for an EGM any time soon as these doctors' issues were unrelated to the current directives.
"140 out of the 1,100 union members signed the letter, and they are not directly impacted by the current dispute, so we're asking them to hold off on the meeting for now, so that we may first conclude their colleagues' dispute," he said.
"Their grievance is about a collective agreement that elapses at the end of next year. We did ask the government to consider opening negotiations early, but it refused. The members want us to exert more pressure but we feel they should be fair to their colleagues and allow us to conclude the current dispute before we start talks on the collective agreement."
He also denied governance issues or misuse of power within the union, saying claims like those must be corroborated with evidence.
He said that a general meeting was not held over the past couple of years because whereas the AGM previously used to approve the accounts, they were now being audited and approved separately.
Rather than a governance issue, there was an increased workload on the union staff as the number of members increased drastically recently, he said.
Progress in talks on healthcentres, new directives postponed
He also said there was progress in talks with the government on the health centres but no agreement yet, and the union had decided to postpone the new, scaled-up directives from Wednesday to Friday this week, to allow more time for an agreement to be reached.