Department to investigate nurses’ union president over overtime allegations

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The Department of Health will investigate the nurses’ union boss over allegations he worked overtime while on vacation last February.

The ministry’s statement came after Labor policy expert Manuel Cuschieri alleged on Friday that the president of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN), Paul Pace, claimed to have worked several overtime hours at his workplace at Mount Carmel Hospital when he was, in fact, on vacation. in Egypt.

Speaking to The Times of Malta on Saturday, Pace flatly denied the allegations.

But the ministry said it would investigate.

“The ministry has taken note of these allegations and will investigate them in due course,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health told The Times of Malta.

Cuschieri cries foul

On his “Linja Diretta” radio show on Smash Friday afternoon, Cuschieri claimed that Pace went on vacation to Egypt between February 16 and 28 and was on leave.

But despite being on vacation and unable to report to work at Mount Carmel, Pace said he worked overtime from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the 16th, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 26 and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the 28.

“And the 26th was a Sunday, so he was asking to be paid double,” Cuschieri said.

Cuschieri then pressed authorities to investigate the allegations, saying that if those responsible did not take action, he was ready to pursue the story and keep talking about it because he is convinced that his information is correct.

“If they dig, they will find that what I say is precisely true. If no action is taken, I will not stop and I will reveal other things.”

In another video on Saturday afternoon, Cuschieri alleged that the same story could have repeated itself last month when Pace was vacationing in Sicily. He said the nurses’ union boss could have claimed overtime during this vacation and on another separate trip to Portugal last September and October.

Pace denies wrongdoing

Contacted for comment, Pace denied the allegations.

“I deny all the allegations made against me. I will continue to work calmly and I will not allow anyone to intimidate me. And I await the conclusion of the investigation without fear,” he said.

The allegations surfaced amid an ongoing dispute between MUMN and the Department of Health over working conditions for nurses.

Two days before Cuschieri’s radio show, Pace had just suspended a series of guidelines issued last week to nurses at Gozo’s health centers and general hospital.

The guidelines were part of a sweeping industrial action the union launched in March, saying there was no money for nurses as talks over a new collective agreement stalled.

The guidelines had raised concerns among other healthcare professions, particularly given the risks to patients from delayed surgeries.

Under the guidelines, health center nurses stopped accompanying doctors to health center clinics, stopped travel-related vaccinations, and stopped office work, including answering phones.

Those at Gozo Hospital had been ordered not to attend dermatology, neuro, urology, DOP, SOP, paediatrics, ophthalmology, cardio, ENT, rheumatology, nephrology and respiratory clinics.

They were also instructed not to perform any preoperative operations except for confirmed oncology operations and pediatric operations.

The guidelines were suspended from Thursday and the MUMN will convene an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday where its 4,000 members can vote on the government’s final proposal for the new collective agreement.

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