The General Workers’ Union has ordered workers at a Mellieħa elderly home not to serve residents soup and other liquid hot food, because of what it says are shortcomings in its health and safety standards. 

In a statement on Thursday, the Union said it was ordering the directives as a result of new food handling and distribution procedures introduced by the company Care Malta, which, they said, posed “a health hazard to both workers and residents”, particularly for hot food. 

The GWU’s Government and Public Entities Section said that union representatives, support service management and workers themselves were not consulted prior to the introduction of the new measures. 

“The GWU attempted many a time to arrive at an agreement with Care Malta management, even setting up a meeting with the OHSA, as well representatives from Support Services Ltd, and the Ministry for Active Ageing, together with union representatives and workers,” the union said in the statement. 

“It was immediately made clear that the GWU’s demands on workers’ and residents’ safety were justified and that both workers and residents were at risk of burns.”

They insisted that workers must be protected at their workplace 

As the parties failed to come to a resolution about the matter, the GWU felt it had no choice but to issue directives.