No developments over car park fee issue

No developments were reported yesterday in the issue over the rise in fees at the car park close to St Luke`s Hospital and the unions plan to go ahead with the two-hour nurses` strike this morning as planned.

Both the General Workers` Union and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin are supporting the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses in its stand.

The car park has been passed on to Pietà council by the government and the parking fee for hospital employees is rising to 35 cents a day, up from 10 cents.

The MUMN has ordered its members to report for work at 9 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. today.

The director general for health, Ray Busuttil, has said that the health division would consider taking legal action against the union because the planned strike was not legitimate in that it did not relate to working conditions, or a breach in the collective agreement.

The action was expected to have an impact on the service provided to patients, as well as on the daily 800 to 1,000 visitors to the hospitals. However, considering it would only last two hours, the emergency cover being provided by the union would be adequate.