CEBU CITY, Philippines — Filipino nurses eyeing job opportunities in Australia will have to wait for at least two years as the Australian government announced it will hold off applications for foreign nurses beginning this year until 2013.
Austrialian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith explained that this was due to a consolidation movement of Australia’s public healthcare sector.
“From now until 2013 there will be no significant demand for nurses outside of Australia,” he made this announcement during his recent visit to Cebu.
At present, Smith estimated some 250,000 Filipinos working and residing in Australia, majority of them working as nurses or other medical professions.
He failed to clarify, though, whether the employment status of Filipino nurses in Australia will be affected by the ongoing consolidation in their public health sector.
However, Smith said that employment demand for accountants, engineers, IT (Information Technology) experts in Australia will continue to grow over the next few years.
Earlier, Leah Samaco-Paquiz, Philippine Nursing Association president noted a plateau in the demand for Filipino nurses abroad including the United States (US) and Australia citing weakening demand from US employers and the issue on visa retrogression.
She said many nurses are now underemployed or unemployed as a result of changes of policy in destination countries, the current situation of oversupply and quality problems, among others.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) likewise admitted that the US has indeed placed a cap on the entry of Filipino nurses but encouraged Filipinos to venture into new markets.
DoLE said that Saudi Arabia alone is in need of 10,000 nurses for their public hospitals and are specifically eyeing Filipino nurses to fill the vacancies.
Likewise, under the new ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) which was signed in January last year, New Zealand will allow up to 100 Philippine nurses to work there as registered nurses at any one time for a period of three years.
Nurses will be given working visas even while they are undergoing the required bridging courses and examinations. –MALOU M. MOZO, Manila Bulletin
September 18 –
International Equal Pay Day
“Increase wages now,
more than other cost items.
For widespread, practical equality!”
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Accept the National Unity Government (NUG)
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September –
5 Sept – Intl Day of Charity
7 Sept – Intl Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies
8 Sept – International Literacy Day
12 Sept – United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation
15 Sept – International Day of Democracy
16 Sept – International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
17 Sept – World Patient Safety Day
18 Sept – International Equal Pay Day
21 Sept – International Day of Peace
26 Sept – International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
27 Sept – World Tourism Day
28 Sept – International Day for Universal Access to Information
29 Sept – International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste
30 Sept – World Maritime Day
Monthly Observances:
Health, Safety and Sanitation Month
National Clean-up Month
Civil Service Month
National Peace Consciousness Month
Social Security Month
Rule of Law Month
National Teachers’ Month (Sept 5-Oct 4)
Weekly Observances:
Sept 17 – 23:
World Clean and Green Week
Week 2: Education Week
Week 4: Medicine Week
Last Week: National Family Week
Daily Observances:
Third Saturday:
International Coastal Clean-up Day
Third Monday: World Health Day
Last Friday: National Maritime Day
Sept 8: National Literacy Day
Sept 15: Philippine Medicine Day
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