Press Release
12 February 2009

Urgent Appeal to Nursing Council: Protect qualified Filipino nurses
from undue rejection

Migrante Aotearoa, an organization of Filipino migrant workers in New Zealand is calling on the Nursing Council to approve the registration of qualified Filipino nurses who have already met standards before it came up with a new rule that "nursing degree courses of less than four years will no longer be deemed eligible."

“We hope that the council will take the right step in protecting the rights of Filipino nurses currently in New Zealand who have been waiting for their registration under the old criteria rather than impose the new rule that will force them to go home or find work elsewhere. While it is the council’s job to assess the hundreds of applicants who are waiting in the Philippines, we believe it's also their job to recognize the service and protect the rights of those who are already here. We ask the council not to undermine the skills of Filipino nurses who deserve to get their license before the new policy was in place,” Dennis Maga, national coordinator of Migrante Aotearoa stated.

In a letter addressed to Chief executive Carolyn Reed, Mr. Maga noted, “We do understand the council’s job to ensure that educational courses preparing Filipino nurses coming to New Zealand are meeting acceptable standards. But we hope there will be justice and compassion for the nurses who are already working here. They certainly deserve to be registered under the old policy as they already proved to be of good service to the New Zealand health care system.

In 2007, Migrante Aotearoa launched a campaign in support of nurses’ fight against unscrupulous contracts and exorbitant fees by some immigration agents. This time, the group is taking action on nurses discriminated by the new policy and will seek the support of the New Zealand Nurses Organization, the Human Rights Commission, Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) and various groups to ask the council to protect qualified Filipino nurses especially those currently in New Zealand from undue rejection.

Mylene (not her real name), a second courser nurse who has been working here for almost three years, lamented to Migrante Aotearoa that while she actually has a job offer as a nurse in one hospital, she could not work as a nurse pending her registration. She was happy when she finally passed the English test but the new policy shattered her dream of finally getting a license. Mylene is among those who could only work as a healthcare assistant and receive lower pay even as New Zealand hospitals are in need of nurses.

Some of Mylene’s fellow nurses were forced to go home to the Philippines as they could not afford to pay around 20,000 NZ dollars a year under the new requirement for second coursers to study for 2-3 semesters in New Zealand. Nurses working here as healthcare assistants or caregivers were very hopeful about finally getting their registration after they recently passed the English test. But the new requirement undermines the qualifications of those who completed nursing course in less than four years.

ENDS

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