Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 83rd ILC session (1996)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Malta (Ratification: 1990)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the following matters raised in its previous direct request:

Article 1, paragraph 3, of the Convention. Please indicate any special rules established concerning nursing personnel who give nursing care and services on a voluntary basis and state whether prior consultations were held with the employers' and workers' organizations concerned in this context.

Article 2, paragraph 1. Please supply information on the national policy concerning nursing services and indicate the bodies responsible for formulating and implementing the policy.

Article 2, paragraphs 2(a) and 3. The Committee noted that the Government has embarked upon a process of reform in the health sector aimed at achieving a more personalized and quality service. It requests the Government to supply full information on the nature of the measures which have been taken or are envisaged in the context of this reform (for example, as they affect health institutes and schools, training programmes for nursing personnel, etc.). Please also indicate the manner in which the organizations of employers and workers concerned were consulted in the context of the above reform process.

Article 2, paragraph 2(b). Please supply further information on the career prospects of nursing personnel in the public and private sectors.

Article 2, paragraph 4. Please indicate the manner in which the coordination and consultation laid down in this paragraph are ensured.

Article 3, paragraph 1. Please indicate the manner in which the basic requirements regarding education and training are laid down and how education and training are supervised.

Article 3, paragraph 2. Please indicate how the coordination called for by this paragraph is ensured.

Article 4. Please supply information on any laws or regulations which specify the requirements for the practice of providing nursing care and services.

Article 5, paragraph 1. The Committee noted that discussions and negotiations regarding the status and conditions of employment of nursing personnel have been organized with trade union organizations. Please supply full information on the manner in which this consultation was held and its outcome in the public and private sectors, together with a copy of the collective agreements governing the conditions of employment of nursing personnel in the private sector. Please also indicate the dispute settlement procedures which are applied for nursing personnel.

Article 6, paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g). Please describe the conditions of employment and work of nursing personnel under the current law and practice in the fields covered by these provisions and state to what extent the above conditions are comparable to those of other workers.

Article 7. Please indicate the laws and regulations which are in force respecting occupational health and safety, as well as the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to improve these provisions by adapting them to the special nature of nursing work and of the environment in which it is carried out. Please also indicate any measures which have been taken or are envisaged, in consultation with the employers' and workers' organizations concerned, to take into account the particular risk of accidental exposure to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among nursing personnel.

Point V of the report form. Please supply general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including for example: statistics on the number of nursing personnel and their relation to the population; the number of persons leaving the profession; any practical difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Convention; etc.