Updated Tuesday 12.15pm with MAM reaction

Members of the Medical Association of Malta have criticised the union’s leadership for voting for itself in a vote of no confidence while excluding members.

Last week, around 200 doctors requested an emergency meeting with the association due to “disgruntlement within the profession”.

MAM is currently in the midst of a dispute with the government over a lack of consultation regarding the outsourcing of emergency services to private hospitals.

Times of Malta understands that doctors are concerned by the MAM’s lack of response regarding the scheduling of the proposed meeting, with the fact that an annual general meeting has not been held in two years being a particular sore point.

“This is the simplest way to guarantee transparency, accountability, and the active participation of our members,” a source told The Times of Malta.

Doctors are also frustrated at the way the vote of no confidence was carried out, with the vote being limited to just the 11 members of the executive council while excluding the ordinary members.

“It’s a funny situation – they took it upon themselves to vote for themselves,” the source said, emphasising that the number of members who requested the EGM – 20 per cent of the total membership – was double the minimum statutory requirement.

MAM president Martin Balzan had previously 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. 

But the source said: “This is not an accounting firm. The accounts are only one part of the association’s affairs, so in my opinion this is not a valid justification for not calling a meeting”.

While there is support among doctors for the MAM’s aim of clarifying the terms and day-to-day operational procedures of the outsourcing agreement to ensure the safety of patients, they are concerned that the internal dispute is hurting their profession.

“The union does good work – it’s our shield and we need to keep it strong. But we’re in a nasty place right now. There have been several issues boiling under the surface for years, and now I’m worried that issues are getting conflated,” the source said.

Contacted on Saturday, Balzan insisted the association’s internal affairs should be kept private.

“We’re just asking members to hold their horses until the current dispute is resolved, then we can hold an AGM,” he said, adding that airing internal affairs damaged the union’s negotiating power with the government.

Fresh call for EGM

Meanwhile, doctors who form part of an advocacy group called Medics for Change, on Monday once again called for a vote of no confidence and to demand the MAM president to hold an extraordinary general meeting by February 7 or else resign by Friday.

A total of 96 per cent of those who voted expressed themselves in favour of the resolutions. 

When contacted, Dr JP Tabone, general secretary of MAM said: "Trying to divide a Union during an industrial dispute is a well-rehearsed tactic and while disappointing is not surprising."