New nurses to be employed

Nurses qualifying this year are all to be employed with the Health Division following an exercise establishing the division's requirements.

Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses general secretary Colin Galea said yesterday that following the conclusion of the exercise, the division held a one-and-a-half hour meeting with the union on Monday.

The government had said it would employ nurses within the public sector only depending on exigencies and not according to the number of those who graduated successfully.

The MUMN had argued that the number of nurses who graduated this year was not enough to fill the number of existing vacancies. It had staged a two-hour strike and planned other industrial action which, following a meeting with the health minister, was suspended.

In a statement yesterday, the health division said that the exercise it had carried out established that 73 nurses were immediately required and steps were being taken for their immediate employment as had been promised by the Prime Minister.

The division said it was not excluding the possibility of employing more nurses according to need in future.

The union said yesterday it was satisfied with the results of the exercise which showed that all nurses were to be employed with the division to fill vacancies, provide new services the department would be providing and for which nurses were required, and be included in a relieving pool.

The newly qualified nurses are to start working on Monday.

The MUMN is on Monday also having a meeting with the division to discuss the sectoral agreement for midwives and nurses and about which the union had given an ultimatum.