Workers who perform a 30-hour shift

To tell the truth, while I had asked for comments from unions and Simon Busuttil in particular, in my letter Thirty Hours At A Stretch (January 11), I wasn't really surprised by the total silence from their end. I believe that they already knew about this exploitation of workers in offering this illegal shift.

These workers do not work in some small, forsaken factory. They do work next to an industrial estate.

These workers are not the usual school leavers who are paid a pittance; neither are they illegal immigrants. These workers are fully qualified after a five-year course at our University. And maybe, if they specialise, you, the reader, might have your life in their hands in the future.

Unfortunately for them, working as part of their "training" includes these 30-hour shifts. These workers are the new doctors and second-year doctors who are employed by the government at Mater Dei Hospital, and who, ironically, in this legislature, are under the care of the Social Policy Minister. Ah... now it can be seen why we had no comments from the above. No other union is going to ruffle the feathers of another union, namely the medical union. And of course, these newly-qualified doctors are just peanuts, they do not count.

Hopefully, by bringing this problem to the attention of the public, things can improve. But, once again, I am not going to hold my breath... otherwise I can be checked in at Mater Dei and be treated by some very tired doctors.