I frequently read articles dealing with stress at work from a teacher’s perspective.

I am not saying that teaching is not stressful and I admire the Malta Union of Teachers for continuously defending the teachers’ rights but, surprisingly, they always want more!

However, we must admit that teaching is not the only stressful job that exists. Case in point is the desperate situation with several health care professionals. Just because they moved from St Luke’s Hospital to Mater Dei, it does not mean that the stress they used to have is no longer an issue now. As a matter of fact, this stress is continuously witnessed and felt by the people who have appointments at Mater Dei. Another similar case holds for staff working at health centre pharmacies. If people who go there to pick up their free medicines once every two months find it unbearable to stay there for a while in the queues, what should these dedicated government dispensers have to say?

Incredibly, after these dispensers remained productive till the very last minute (they did not strike or go-slow), the UHM is permitting that its members become dispersed to certain not-so-attractive places of work that do not guarantee secure posting in the long term.

Would it not have been a better idea if the UHM negotiated with the government to maintain all the major government pharmacies and keep them fully operational in addition to the new pharmacy scheme? This would have ensured that if a particular private pharmacy has to close for some reason or another, or has a medicinal item out-of-stock (presently Thyroxine tablets have been out of stock in the private sector for about two months), the public has other options where to go and where they are never charged for their seats!

But no… ma tarax! If all these pharmacists and pharmacy technicians remain in these government pharmacies, they will not have enough work to occupy and stress them for the whole 40 hours a week, all year round. The vast majority of them have to be transferred to other places of work to ensure that they continue to work, work, and work, and that every euro cent salary that they receive has to be worked for. So, let stress continue to reign with these poor people.

On the other hand, certain teachers are disputing that their contact time should be reduced to 22 hours per week. School professionals (teachers and their allied professionals) do not stay at work for more than 30 hours a week. They even receive bonuses during summer holidays! But as for the health sector, there are very few funds to employ more people in the lower grades and maintain them happily at their places of work.

Besides the public, other solid evidence to the stress at work in the health environment are the high rates of percentage resignations from these places of work which often leads to brain-drain. Other proof of the pressures of work that health workers often have to face are situations of stop-leave or extremely controlled leave.

Unfortunately, health professionals who undeniably suffer so many stresses are not compensated with superb conditions of long holidays and privileges to work much less than 40 hours a week.

Does the saying, “Is-sahha l-ewwel u qabel kollox”, still hold? Why aren’t the major unions doing something concrete for their members? I am of the opinion that happy employees produce better work. I think there is a need for a new union that hears the cries of its members, first and foremost, with no political agendas.

Charles Micallef

Fgura