Labor body accuses other countries of recruiting too many Filipino medical people, leaving local hospitals understaffed
This photo taken on Sept 16, 2022 shows a nurse treating a Covid-19 patient inside an intensive care unit at a hospital in Manila. (Photo: AFP)
A labor coalition in the Philippines has accused the European Union (EU) and other nations of poaching too many Filipino nurses and paramedical staff leaving the Southeast Asian nation struggling to cope with a shortage of medical professionals.
The Nagkaisa labor coalition, an umbrella organization representing many trade unions, said on Jan. 16 that EU nations like Germany as well as other advanced countries like the United Kingdom are recruiting too many Filipino nurses by offering them fat salary packages, which has resulted in fewer hands in local hospitals.
“These countries have the means to pay a higher salary package which has caused fewer nurses and caregivers with local hospitals,” Sonny Matula, president of the Nagkaisa labor coalition, the country’s largest workers’ organization, told UCA News.
According to him, the group has received reports which say visa fees are covered for health workers and other benefits offered to entice medical professionals to work in EU nations.
“We need you here. We appeal to your patriotism”
The Philippine Health Department recently released a report which said the country was facing a shortage of nurses and medical professionals. It urged them to resist the temptation to go abroad.
“I appeal to our nurses and medical workers to consider working in the Philippines first before getting a job in other countries. We need you here. We appeal to your patriotism,” Health Secretary, Rosario Vergeire, said on Jan. 15.
Medical and public health schools in the country admitted that they were cooperating with foreign medical firms, adding it was not against the law.
There is nothing wrong with foreign medical companies promoting themselves in the Philippines. Many of them do it online, Vilma Garcia, president of the De La Salle Medical Center, told UCA News.
“Some are also providing free tuition and taking care of food and lodgings. Of course, this is a generous offer,” Garcia added.
According to the Health Department, a typical 250-bed hospital in the Philippines needs at least 340 nurses to operate. But current strength is between 100 to 120 nurses.
We only have half the number of nurses needed, Vergeire said.
Nurses, who have already gone abroad, however, justified their decision.
“Why would you stay in this country if you have an opportunity to earn more”
“We go abroad to provide a decent living for our children. Are we not patriotic then? said Crystal Cusi, who works in Germany, the EU’s largest economy.
Private hospitals in the Philippines provide a monthly salary of Php12,000 to Php15,000 (US$220-275) while a hospital in the EU pays at least Php80,000 ($1,460) per month, according to a Health Department report.
“Why would you stay in this country if you have an opportunity to earn more in a foreign nation? We are also patriotic as we send remittances,” Cusi added.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), expressed sympathy for the migrants.
It’s not easy to leave a child or an ailing mother. But many of our overseas Filipino workers are doing exactly that. Because they want to save their families from poverty, Msgr. Roger Manalo, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People, told UCA News.
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