DOLE to slow down deployment of Pinay nurses abroad

by Margaret Claire Layug/NB, GMA News, Jun 12, 2019

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is planning to “slow down” the deployment of nurses abroad as there was a “great need” for people with the said profession locally.

“Yung madalas na maraming nag-ga-graduate ng nursing course at nakakuha ng board, nagte-training sila ng two years, and then they leave,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said during an Independence Day job fair in Manila on Wednesday.

“So ang pakiusap sa atin ng PNA (Philippine nursing association) officers ay i-slow down ang deployment ng mga nurses natin dahil kailangang kailangan din natin ng mga nurses dito,” he added.

According to JP Soriano’s report for 24 Oras, nurse jobs in the Middle East and United Kingdom offered at the job fair had salaries ranging from P40,000 to P60,000, excluding benefits.

Local nursing jobs, on the other hand, currently have entry-level salaries ranging from P15,000 to P20,000.

Thus, DOLE is pushing for a law seeking to upgrade the minimum monthly salary of nurses to P30,000.

“We have to recomment with the help of the DBM (Department of Budget and Management). Siyempre siya ang nagtatantsa kung anong kaya nating pagtaas,” Bello said.

The report said DOLE recently also ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to limit the deployment of skilled construction workers to other countries due to the supposed shortage.

On Wednesday, more than 3,000 job seekers flocked to the San Andes Sports Complex in Manila for the 2019 Kalayaan Day job fair, but only a few applied for jobs in construction.

The bulk opted for higher-paying jobs including that of nurses as well as jobs in IT business process management; construction; wholesale and retail trade; hotel and restaurant industry; tourism; manufacturing and sales. —