Nurses' industrial action at cardiac lab blocked by courts
The action was disproportionate and would impact essential services, the court said
Updated 4.15pm
A court has blocked the nurses’ union’s industrial action at Mater Dei’s cardiac catheterisation suite, saying the action would impact essential services and put patients’ lives at risk.
On Wednesday, courts upheld an injunction filed by the health ministry and hospital authorities against MUMN, which had ordered industrial action earlier in the month, citing a dispute over leave entitlement.
The union had instructed its members to stop working on elective cases at the suite, saying hospital authorities had unjustly restricted vacation leave to only one nurse per day.
According to the union, this breached the 20% rule, which regulates the number of employees allowed to take vacation leave simultaneously.
The injunction was temporarily upheld shortly after the industrial action came into force, when the government turned to the courts to halt the action.
The health ministry had argued that the action was “disproportionate, unethical and unsafe,” putting patients’ lives in “grave jeopardy”.
The union has since called off its industrial action, saying the dispute over leave entitlement has been resolved.
Nevertheless, on Wednesday courts partly confirmed the previous decision to uphold the injunction, arguing that the industrial action was disproportionate.
“While the union has a duty to fight for its members’ interests, this needs to be done proportionally, taking into account the nature of the work impacted,” Judge Miriam Hayman said.
The courts said it was upholding the injunction to stop MUMN’s industrial action only to the extent that the action impacts essential services, such as in this particular instance.
The health ministry welcomed the court's decision, adding that patients' health should never be put at risk by disproportionate directives.