If I were Health Minister Joe Cassar, I would be tempted to grab MUMN president Paul Pace by the lapels of his jacket – or somewhere more hurtful – and tell him where to go. Or perhaps I would completely ignore him, as indifference is often the best answer.

But that is why I am the journalist and Dr Cassar is the minister. I am sure that both options have never crossed Dr Cassar’s mind.

As a journalist, I am duty bound to point out that Paul Pace might have the best intentions in the world to fight for the nursing cause, but what he has been saying and doing is causing more harm than good, in particular to the overall image of the profession that is so dear to all of us and so important in the health sector.

Holding the position he does as the top nurses’ official, he should be more careful of what he says and how he says it: ultimately his behaviour is representative of the hundreds of nurses he leads.

I really wonder what they think when their president speaks out the way he does. Are they happy to have a leader who often comes across as someone who speaks his mind without seemingly considering all the repercussions of what he says, or who does not look at the whole picture before blurting out his comments?

If I were a nurse, I would not want to have him as my union leader. I would prefer to have someone more reasonable and less arrogant and, most of all, I would like to have someone who works harder in my interests and less to promote his self-created image.

For one thing, more often than not Paul Pace tends to sign MUMN statements himself, rather than have the secretary-general of the union do so, as is the practice elsewhere. This already gives the impression of someone who wants to be seen and heard.

And each time I think the MUMN president has reached the bottom of the pit, he manages to dig an even deeper hole for himself. The problem is that he does not seem to realise this, and it is also apparent that his colleagues in the union’s executive are not drawing his attention to his short-sightedness and outright militancy.

If they are doing so, and Paul Pace continues to march on, irrespective of such admonitions, then it is clear that he thinks he is bigger than the union and cannot be restrained.

If they do not agree with what he is doing, then they should go public with their thoughts. By staying silent, they are coming across as his accomplices.

Come to think of it, it would be interesting to know whether or not the statements issued by their president are approved by the rest of the MUMN executive before they are emailed to the media.

To mention just one example of the MUMN’s militancy, last year it ordered industrial action which the Health Ministry said was putting people’s lives in danger. This was the non-administration of medication to patients suffering from mental conditions, and nurses were also told to leave the ward if patients turned aggressive because they had not taken such medication. Nurses were also instructed not to administer CPR in the event of a patient suffering a blackout.

Such directives are inconceivable. Effectively, Paul Pace was telling nurses not to carry out the duties they had sworn to carry out to the best of their abilities. He was telling them to break their oath.

And it’s not as if matters have improved since then, because often enough statements made by the union – through Paul Pace, who seems to be running a one-man show – have been highly confrontational. Rather than trying to work out a solution, the union’s attitude has been more divisive and belligerent.

The union leader’s recent comments during the Libyan crisis were shameful. To say that the government was showing excessive concern for Libyan patients to the detriment of the Maltese was, to say the least, insensitive, coming from a union representing people whose job is to treat ill or injured people.

Last week, he reached a new low when he called for Dr Cassar’s resignation simply because the minister made no reference to nurses in a speech at a conference organised for doctors. The MUMN – for which read Paul Pace – came out with a scathing statement the accusatory tone of which was unprecedented. He claimed “utter neglect” on the minister’s part for the nursing profession because of this omission, and said he should step down.

I guess Paul Pace expects Dr Cassar to start each and every sentence he makes in public with “Paul Pace”, and give a slight bow too. Or, perhaps, before saying good morning to his wife, Paul Pace expects Dr Cassar to pick up the phone and call him to enquire if he has slept well.

I’m afraid he will be disappointed to know that the minister does not keep a photo of the union leader in his office – but I guess he knows that, since he must be a frequent visitor to Merchants Street, judging by the number of meetings he requests and the minister’s patience.

Dr Cassar is too polite to answer back the way the MUMN president deserved. His ministry simply pointed out that a reply to the kind of language Paul Pace used would have been unethical and disrespectful towards nurses. It was a strong hint that Paul Pace should understand what his role is, but I do not think that his bigheadedness will allow him to grasp this.

The Medical Association of Malta (MAM) and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin were more straightforward in the statements they issued to condemn Paul Pace. I interpret the General Workers’ Union’s silence on the issue – the GWU has often been among the first to support the MUMN, an ally within the Ghaqda Unions Maltin – as a way of showing that it does not agree with the MUMN leader.

As if its first statement of the week was not enough, the MUMN issued another one on Thursday saying that it could not understand why, 10 months after a recruitment process had started, nursing officers had not yet been appointed.

Hours later, the Health Ministry said the MUMN statement was “ambiguous” because the union had been informed that the employment of a number of nursing officers had been recommended to the Public Service Commission the day before.

It is easy to see the MUMN’s game here – they wanted to be seen as having pushed the government into appointing the NOs, when the government had already decided on their employment. The MUMN was trying to take credit for something it did not deserve.

The MAM was correct to point out, earlier in the week, that Paul Pace is a cause for public embarrassment to the MUMN.

It is he who should resign. But since he is too conceited to admit he is in the wrong, the union members should oust him.

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