Nurses urged to look for jobs in Saudi, not US

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino nurses should look for jobs in Saudi Arabia, according to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer has emerged as the most aggressive recruiter of Filipino nurse practitioners, outpacing the United States, said TUCP secretary-general and former Senator Ernesto Herrera.

“Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East are definitely still hiring Filipino and other foreign nurses,” said Herrera, former chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development.

Herrera downplayed the potential adverse impact of Saudi Arabia’s Nitaqat program on migrant Filipino workers. He noted the Nitaqat was implemented to appease Saudi citizens, amid the social unrest in the region. Nitaqat required more than 300,000 firms in the kingdom to increase their hiring of locals, and lessen their employment of foreigners.

Herrera noted Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia usually perform jobsthat Saudi citizens do not want or could not provide.

“Our nurses, household service workers, even our skilled construction laborers there won’t be affected that much by Nitaqat,” Herrera said.

Earlier, President Aquino ordered the Department of Labor and Employment to study the possible negative effect of Nitaqat on Filipinos in Saudi Arabia, who sent to their families here more than $1.5-billion in 2010 alone.

Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed said a total of 8,771 “newly hired” Filipino nurses were deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2010, without counting those whose labor contracts were simply renewed, or rehired.

Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Kuwait, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Taiwan, Jordan and Bahrain are also still hiring Filipino nurses, though at a slower pace. This combined for a total of 3,660 newly hired Filipino nurses in 2010. –abs-cbnNEWS.com