The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses withdrawn an industrial dispute with Karen Grech Hospital after an agreement was reached.

The MUMN had earlier said that it could not allow nurses working at this hospital to be treated as second class.

The Public Service Management Code provides that employees can avail from a number of years to try an alternative job outside the public service. MUMN, due to shortage of nurses, reached an agreement with the management of Mater Dei Hospital and other hospitals, including the Primary Health Care Department, so that they could avail from a 6 month period.

The management of Karen Grech Hospital initially objected to abide by this agreement and instead refused bluntly to let five nurses to avail from this proviso listed in the Public Service Management Code, MUMN said.

These five nurses are public service employees like all their counterparts in other hospitals. They are not employed by Steward Health Care.

MUMN said it will not accept anything less for these nurses. The union will in the coming days inform the management about other directive the MUMN will be issuing to all the nurses employed at this hospital so as to safeguard their interests, as the management's decision affects them all.

In a second statement, the MUMN said it had been informed that the six-month period is approved. Although the management did not write us back to inform us about this approval, we have been given a verbal guarantee that the forms have already been signed for approval, the union said.