The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) has accused the Health Ministry and Mater Dei Hospital (MDH) management of acting in bad faith after the government filed a court injunction to halt industrial action-despite the underlying dispute having already been resolved.
In a statement on Thursday, the union said the legal action was unnecessary, insisting that ministry and hospital officials were aware that the disagreement over vacation leave arrangements in the Cath Lab had been settled two days earlier but chose not to disclose this to the union.
According to MUMN, nursing management at MDH reinstated on 2 December the long-standing practice allowing two Cath Lab nurses to take vacation leave per day without needing to find their own replacements. This arrangement, it said, has been in place for nearly three decades and follows the standard 20% leave allocation applied across other hospital departments.
Despite this resolution, the government proceeded on 3 December to request a prohibitory injunction, presenting the dispute as ongoing. MUMN accused the authorities of deliberately withholding information to justify the court action.
"Had MUMN been informed, the directives would have been immediately withdrawn and no legal case would have been required," the union said, describing the episode as evidence of a serious communication breakdown within MDH-or "outright deceit, treachery and dishonesty".
The union claimed that while the hospital's CEO and Medical Director, with ministerial backing, were pursuing court measures, nursing management had already reversed the controversial leave policy.
MUMN stressed that for 29 years the practice of granting two nurses per day vacation leave in the Cath Lab has never disrupted patient services, which is why the issue was resolved swiftly. Instead of acknowledging the mistake, the union said, management had chosen to conceal the correction.
Calling the injunction "unprecedented", MUMN argued that taking a union to court over a settled matter reflects a hostile attitude from "certain elements around the Health Minister" and undermines constructive collaboration in the healthcare sector.
The union vowed to continue defending its members and to stand firm against "intimidation, weaponisation and bad-faith behaviour".
Ministry responds
In response, the Ministry for Health and Active Ageing and Mater Dei Hospital strongly denied the claims being made the MUMN.
"The hard facts and chronology are altogether different and the MUMN's statements bear no semblance to the truth."
"The MUMN issued a directive on the 2nd of December 2025 to be effective on the 3rd of December 2025, later postponed to the 4th of December 2025. This directive sought to block life-saving heart operations at the Cath Suite in Mater Dei Hospital, the only unit performing these operations in Malta and Gozo. Through notifications sent to the MUMN on the 3rd of December 2025 at 1130hrs, the Ministry invited the MUMN for conciliatory discussions. Soon after at 1205hrs, the MUMN declined this offer. Having put in a further similar request at 1332hrs, and without receiving a positive outcome, the Ministry had no other recourse except for filing for a prohibitory injunction in order to safeguard the health and life of the heart patients scheduled to be operated upon."
"This set of events proves that the Ministry acted in good faith towards the MUMN. However, the Ministry shall remain faithful to its commitment to uphold the supreme interest of its patients," the statement by the ministry read.
Furthermore, the Ministry said it is seriously concerned by the fact that in fulfilling their duties, "its employees are being constantly and systematically subjected to unwarranted personal attacks, threats, and intimidation by the MUMN. Sadly, this approach is also evident in the recent press releases issued by the MUMN."