Our View: Nursing unions cannot dictate health policy

It is quite astonishing that there has been a shortage of some 600 nurses at hospitals and clinics for some time now and nursing unions are preventing every government attempt to tackle the problem. What is demoralising is that the obstructive tactics are successful, the health ministry constantly changing tack in the futile hope that it would eventually secure the consent of the intransigent nursing unions. The political parties, which are fully aware of the nurses’ unreasonable and self-serving attitude, have been sitting on the fence, because they cannot possibly support what is right and risk alienating a sizeable voting group. They did the same when the teaching unions were blocking the education ministry’s bill for a new evaluation system, the president of the education committee arguing that the two sides should reach a deal. How could there be a deal when the teachers wanted to dictate how their work would be evaluated? And now the parties are allowing the nursing unions’ blatant obstructionism and filibustering, oblivious to the risks for patients caused by the shortages. They do not care that patients in hospitals may have to accept a lower standard of care and there might be fewer beds available, because unions will not allow the hiring of nurses from third countries. No party has taken a stand in favour of what is in the interest of the population, while the health ministry is going through the motions, avoiding any hint of confrontation, because there will be an election in 16 months. Initially, the government came with the sensible idea of allowing hospitals to employ third country individuals, who had received a nursing degree from Cyprus universities, on condition they could speak basic Greek. It planned to change the existing, discriminatory, law that required foreign nurses to have a master’s degree to be eligible for employment in Cyprus, but the unions vetoed the idea, even though the bill stipulated that only two-year contracts would be given. To satisfy our union rulers the ministry changed the bill which was also deemed unacceptable at the House health committee on Thursday. In the new proposal, to be hired, a third country nurse would need to have two years’ professional experience and would be ineligible for the role of shift supervisor; there would be a 10 per cent limit on foreign nurses at each hospital. Union bosses came up with a new reason to veto the proposal. Problems would be created by the different culture of foreign nurses. It was difficult assimilating foreigners in the “Cypriot culture,” Sek union representative argued, ignoring the fact there are more than 100,000 foreign workers employed in Cyprus at present, most of whom are very productive without ever acquainting themselves with the local culture. Does a nurse need to know the culture to change a drip or give an injection? The most idiotic argument used on Thursday, however, was that there were 800 to 1,000 Cypriot nurses who had left the profession and should be brought back. If they left nursing, it is because they did not like the job and if they have not returned now that all hospitals are looking for nurses, they will never return. The committee was also told that hospitals could wait for nurses to graduate from universities at a rate of 200 per year, the union boss claiming that in four years the shortage would be covered! He did not mention how many nurses would be retiring or leaving the profession in those four years. We must consider the possibility that fewer young Cypriots are interested in working as nurses because it is a demanding job involving anti-social working hours and relatively modest rewards. How many Cypriots work on building sites or as waiters today? We could very well be entering a period in which there will never be enough Cypriots (or EU citizens interested in working in Cyprus) to staff our hospitals. This is what the health ministry must bear in mind and go ahead with the law allowing the hiring of third country nurses. It must try to secure party backing for its bill and give up all attempts to please nursing unions, whose sole objective is maintaining the shortages because these push up wages.