“Whereas childcare facilities for the benefit of staff are presently available at St Luke’s Hospital, none are planned for Mater Dei. Not only, but such service-provision is still inexistent at the Gozo General Hospital,” said Harry Vassallo, chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party (AD).

Furthermore, instead of providing similar job-related services in Gozo, trained Gozitan childcare workers in St Luke’s are now being transferred to Gozo simply to perform clerical duties.

“It is futile to preach about family-friendly work measures, encouraging female participation in the labour market, when the Gozo Ministry itself fails to implement such measures in one of its own institutions,” said Dr Vassallo.

Victor Galea, AD Gozo Regional Committee spokesperson and the general secretary of AD asked: “Why is it that there is a hugely disproportionate number of Gozitan police officers stationed in Malta, when Gozo is gravely under policed?” Mr Galea added that “the recent robbery in Xewkija where a woman was robbed a few metres away from the closed police station in Xewkija in broad daylight is a case in point. At present there are 67 Gozitans working in the Police Corps in Malta, including a major, nine sergeants and 57 constables, while paradoxically the 15 village police stations

around Gozo are practically closed. AD already addressed this issue of Gozitan police officers placed in Malta some months ago.”

“This typifies the inconsistencies of the Gozo Ministry. The public, the police, the childcare workers and taxpayers have a right to transparent unequivocal answers in this regard,” concluded Dr Vassallo.