Directives issued to emergency ambulance workers by the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin (UĦM) are “illegal” and have badly affected the provision of emergency services, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) has claimed.

In a letter seen by Times of Malta, sent to health ministry permanent secretary Joseph Rapa, MUMN president Paul Pace says that nurses already working under significant stress in the emergency department are having to deal with increased tension and responsibility.

Pace also charged the health department with discriminating between unions by failing to issue a court mandate to counter the UĦM’s demands.

The government recently went to court to force the MUMN to back down on some of its own directives.

The MUMN’s letter alleges that the government is attempting to bypass the UĦM’s directives by outsourcing the work of ambulance drivers to independent contractors, whose lack of experience is causing difficulty for emergency nurses.

The ambulances lack basic equipment and the drivers lack knowledge, the union says. Nurses have also reported two incidents of irresponsible or reckless driving.

The outsourcing costs taxpayers some €5,000 a day, the letter adds.

The UĦM issued directives to its members across healthcare services last week, accusing the government of “dragging its feet” in the negotiation of collective agreements.

The MUMN expressed “disgust” to the permanent secretary, saying that his office “sat pretty and did nothing”.

The nurses’ union has requested an emergency meeting with hospital management.