Mater Dei has been served with a threat from the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses that it will take industrial action if the hospital doesn’t reintroduce chocolate, soft drinks and other unhealthy food for its staff.

“We would like to make it clear that Malta is not a dictatorship where people are obliged to eat only what the Health Promotion department deems fit,” the MUMN said. “People have every right to eat glucose beverages, sweet deserts and pasta, regardless of whether they work in Mater Dei or not.”

Describing the hospital’s unhealthy food ban as a “cost-cutting exercise”, the union said it has bombarded by complaints from nurses and midwives and warned it will issue directives unless unhealthy items return to the menu by 10th June.

Mater Dei has also stopped offering pastizzi

The MUMN said that Mater Dei should introduce a free gym on its premises if it was worried about staff health, but not “restrict our food to an antagonising meal, notwithstanding that most MUMN members have to work 12-hour shifts”.

Mater Dei announced last year that it will stop offering non-nutritional items, such as pastizzi, fried food, donuts, chocolates, high-sugar yoghurts and salted nuts to its staff, patients and visitors.

Staff are still allowed to bring unhealthy food to work with them or cook unhealthy food in the hospital kitchens but will no longer be able to buy the items from hospital itself.

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]