Labour director doubles up as private GP

Mar 01, 2007 06:03:38

Karl Schembri The man called in earlier this month to mediate in the case of seven dockyard workers accused of sleeping at work, may well end up having to answer for what looks like a pattern of leaving the office early to attend to his private practice. A medical doctor by profession, Director of Industrial and Employment Relations, Dr Noel Vella, is moonlighting as a GP at a Mosta pharmacy during office hours, MaltaToday can reveal. While government personnel are required to work between 7.45am and 5.15pm in winter, Dr Vella sees his patients at the clinic at St Mary Pharmacy, Mosta, every day from 4pm onwards. When contacted, a pharmacy attendant confirmed Dr Vella’s clinic hours from Monday to Friday. Employed as director and registrar of trade unions by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment, Dr Vella’s private work during office hours means that he might be examining patients in the midst of an industrial relations crisis requiring his mediation between employers and unions. A ministry spokesman confirmed that Education Minister Louis Galea was not informed about Dr Vella’s private practice. For his part, Dr Vella did not respond to messages left with his office secretary over the past two weeks. But while this double life appears to be at odds with Dr Vella’s formal role as Industrial and Employment Relations director, in reality it does not breach his contract. The ministry spokesman added that Dr Vella’s hours are flexible, and that his job could require him to work on a Sunday if urgent mediation was necessary. “Government workers are normally expected to report at 7.45am and leave at 5.15pm,” the spokesman said, adding that directors are expected to be on call 24 hours a day. “As director he occupies a management position and like every manager he is expected to be flexible in the normal working hours and beyond them. As a doctor he can practice his medical profession as family doctor as long as it does not interfere with his duties as director and as long as there is no conflict of interest.”