Unions in the dark on Vitals deal details

Details on the deal between Vitals Global Healthcare and Steward Healthcare have yet to be disclosed to unions representing workers in the health sector. Speaking to the Times of Malta after a meeting with Opposition leader Adrian Delia yesterday, a day after a debate on the deal was held in Parliament, union officials said that although the government had assured them that working conditions would not be impacted, they were in the dark on what would happen now. The government announced a few days before Christmas that Vitals had sold its 30-year concession to American operator Steward Healthcare, with Health Minister Chris Fearne referring to the new operator as “the real thing”. However, little information has been divulged since. The Medical Association of Malta’s general secretary Martin Balzan said the stand of the doctors’ union remained unchanged, insisting that the government should put all negotiations about the concession sale on hold pending the outcome of investigations into the deal by the Auditor General. Dr Balzan said Mr Fearne’s comments in Parliament on Wednesday, that he would be showing a copy of the contract to the Opposition once it was completed, further...