Pay talks between the government and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses  are ongoing and seem to be heading in the right direction, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Thursday.

He was replying to questions after the union last month month ordered industrial action while insisting that nurses should be paid as much as other healthcare professionals in the same grades. The union told its members not to coordinate transfers of patients, not chase results including those from COVID-19 swabs and not to give handovers.

The industrial action was, however, stopped on court orders at the request of the health ministry. The ministry's lawyers argued that the directives were unlawful, disproportionate and excessive and could endanger patients' lives. Mater Dei Hospital’s clinical chairman had warned that the industrial action could bring the hospital to a standstill, while the Association of Surgeons of  Malta criticized the directives as antithetical to the care of vulnerable patients.

“We’ve had a number of meetings, including this week, and it looks like things are moving in the right direction,” Fearne said.

“The plan is to keep discussions going and we have another meeting scheduled right before Christmas.”