Akel refuses to back nurse import bills without collective deals

Akel will not support bills to bring nurses in from outside the EU unless private hospitals sign collective agreements with their staff, MP Marina Nikolaou told the House health committee on Thursday. “Since you refuse to implement collective agreements, which could keep wages within certain safe limits, then from us it is ‘no’,” she said. Nikolaou said her party would reject any government amendment that harmed nurses’ rights or pay. Committee chairwoman and Disy MP Savia Orphanidou likewise told private hospitals the committee could not see “how we will be able to reconcile the opinions”. Related Articles • Okypy staff to strike over unimplemented pay agreement • Health minister seeks counsel from former nurses to address shortages • Our View: Nursing unions cannot dictate health policy • Unions refuse to yield on allowing foreign nurses to address shortages • Nursing shortage dispute intensifies ahead of two bills before parliament • Larnaca hospital nurses stage walkout over overcrowding “I do not see how it can proceed without collective agreements, for me this is the red line,” she said. Disy MP George Pamboridis said hospitals would not find the staff they wanted unless they paid to bring back about 1,300 nurses who have left the profession. “Collective agreements cannot be imposed by anyone, other than the market, which is shouting at you that you are not paying enough,” he said. He supported the tougher language requirement and said he disliked “double standards” given what is asked of doctors. Diko MP Andreas Apostolou said the law cannot force anyone to sign an agreement. Two bills are before the committee; one raises the standard of Greek required of nurses and midwives, while the other removes a provision that conflicts with other legislation and has blocked nurses and midwives from third countries from applying to join the professional register. The health ministry wants the Greek requirement raised by two levels, to B1, while the private hospitals’ association (Pasin) wants a rise of one level, to A2, with a review after four years rather than two, citing the difficulty of attaining fluency in Greek. Its president, Marios Karaiskakis, said a provision for English could also be considered. He opposed the rule limiting foreign nurses to 10 per cent of a hospital’s nursing staff, calling it a “free gift” given the scale of the shortages. A representative of the employers’ federation (Oev) proposed that nurses start at A1 and sit A2 exams within two years. He said private hospitals cannot work at full capacity without more nurses. “If there were Cypriot nurses available, we would be the first to want them,” he said. He put the average weighted salary of a nurse in Cyprus at €3,000 a month and rejected claims of poor conditions. The government plan would permit hospitals to employ some 150 nurses from third countries on two-year licences, which the health ministry has called a “temporary solution”. Nurses would normally require two years of prior experience and could not work as shift managers.