For twelve whole months, MUMN has been trying to reach an agreement on the sectoral agreement of the Phlebotomists and Decontamination Sterilization Technicians.

Although MUMN was proactive and innovative as to attract new people is such as Health Professions, the destructive attitude and the sheer careless approach of the Permanent  Secretary was to say the least limitless. The shortage of the Phlebotomists and Decontamination Sterilization Technicians is of no concern to the Permanent Secretary. The only concern which he attributes as important is how to stop MUMN'a Directives and not how to reach a compromise. 

In fact, MUMN was taken to court with a mandate when only €400 was being offered as a raise to the Phlebotomists and Decontamination Sterilization Technicians while other Health Professionals were given increases in salaries of thousands of euros.

Continuous Professional Development Allowances (CPD) which any healthcare worker benefits, to progress in his/her studies, were denied to these employees while other employees, who have the same academic standard, were given this CPD Allowance by the same Permanent Secretary. In fact, when confronted with this matter, he resorted to explanations that attribute to mistakes done by the Health Ministry.

The Permanent Secretary often brags of resigning from his post, during MUMN’s meetings, and states that he is proud to have “no fear” from any Health Minister so that the demands of the Health Professionals are not met. The same Permanent. Secretary which discriminates between Health Professionals by providing allowances to one category of Health Care Professionals but then demies the others  

The same Permanent. Secretary who out sources the services of sterilization to private hospitals costing thousands of euros so to deprive the Phlebotomists and the Decontamination Sterilization Technicians from attaining their rightful CPD Allowances as other Health Professionals.

The same Permanent Secretary who yesterday resorted to illegal action by his Office by stopping all overtime of the Phlebotomists even though such overtime had no Directives attached to it. This new form of punishment from the Permanent Secretary shows that such a person has no intention for any compromise but is now resorting to illegal punishment as a form of detriment against the professionals who are following the current industrial actions.

Therefore, MUMN is allowing 48 hours for the Permanent Secretary to retrieve this illegal punishment against the Phlebotomists as not to work overtime in the Pathology Department. Failure to do so MUMN will increase the Directives in all Health Centres and will certainly take all the necessary legal action to protect its members from this nonsense attitude.

With such approach, MUMN is requesting the immediate resignation of the Permanent Secretary, since it should not wait for the election to change such Permanent Secretary who's only attitude is to discriminate between Health Professionals, to punish those employees who are restoring to their right to follow industrial directives and to suppress MUMN Directives with no effort to reach an agreement for the benefit of the patients and to the service.

 

MUMN Council