Nurses’ chief Paul Pace to face fraud charges
MUMN stands by Paul Pace, saying he is being targeted as a form of intimidation
Nurses’ Union boss Paul Pace will be charged with fraud and misappropriation in June, Times of Malta can reveal.
Pace, a nurse at Mount Carmel Hospital, is alleged to have filed €4,000 worth of fraudulent overtime claims for work he never carried out.
Despite denying intentionally filing fraudulent claims, Times of Malta is informed the MUMN president has since refunded the overpayment.
In a statement, the MUMN claimed Pace had been “deliberately targeted” by a top health ministry official in a bid to undermine his position during sectoral agreement negotiations.
“This treatment represents nothing less than intimidation and a violation of natural justice. It is a clear attempt to undermine and discredit the president of MUMN for his unwavering defence of our members’ rights,” the union said.
The union claimed that throughout the negotiation period, the health ministry official sought to undermine Pace by initiating a fact-finding board into the MUMN president's conduct.
More recently, the union said, a team of auditors was appointed by the ministry official to trawl through years of records "in an apparent attempt to find any wrongdoing".
The union claimed that unlike in other cases, the overpayment to Pace was not dealt with administratively, but instead referred to the police.
The union further claimed that the whole scope of this was for Pace to resign.
“Let us assure you that this will not happen since Mr Pace has the support of the union behind him since this is nothing less than an attack on MUMN,” the union said.
Overtime suspicions
Pace was the subject of a police probe over his earnings as the amounts of money paid to him in overtime and on-call allowances have triggered suspicions over the hours claimed.
In 2023, the Public Service Commission found Pace was paid more than he deserved for overtime he claimed to have worked at his full-time job. He was suspended from work for five days and ordered to refund the money.
Pace insists the overpayment was simply a human error that amounted to just €215.