The UHM – Voice of the Workers has issued industrial directives for a number of health workers to only provide emergency services owing to a pay dispute with the health authorities.

The Union has ordered that audiologists, occupational therapists, dental hygienists, dental technologists, biomedical scientists, physiotherapists, speech-language pathologists, radiographers, and podiatrists to only provide emergency services.

All professionals work in various government hospital and health centres.

The union said that the government was failing to properly compensate workers with a pay which is proportional to their responsibilities.

The Union complained that their collective agreement expired in December 2017 and the industrial dispute was registered in January but it was suspended in March due to COVID-19.

None of the directives will apply to COVID-19 patients or testing centres.

This means that the UHM’s members are the latest health sector to threaten or follow a set of industrial directives. Industrial action by the Malta Union for Midwives and Nurses was only narrowly avoided, while the members of the Medical Association of Malta are currently still following their own set of directives.