[van-announce] Rally on Thursday for Filipino nurses

[No One is Illegal-Vancouver]

Thursday, May 12,
12 noon
Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson side)

---------------------

Nurses Week: Filipino nurses and other foreign-trained nurses contribute 
to patient safety

Press Statement of the Filipino Nurses Support Group
May 9, 2005

On Thursday, May 12, 12 noon at the Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson side), 
Filipino nurses along with members of the Filipino community and other 
communities, and supporters will commemorate National Nurses Week and 
International Nurses Day by holding a public rally.

The rally will raise public awareness about the issue of the
privatization of health care and the glaring lack of political will of 
the provincial government to recognize the large pool of foreign-trained 
Filipino nurses that are being blocked from entering the nursing
workforce.

Since the 1990’s, the majority of Philippine-trained nurses have come 
into the country under Canada Immigration’s Live-in Caregiver Program 
(LCP) to do live-in domestic work, 24-hour home support and care-giving 
work for Canadian families who can afford private live-in service. 
Filipino migrant nurses under the LCP hold precarious temporary work 
visas for at least two years and earn as little as $2.00 per hour.

“Our presence as highly-skilled and educated nurses doing domestic work 
in Canada is part of B.C.’s on-going scheme to privatize its health care 
system,” maintains Leah Diana of the Filipino Nurses Support Group 
(FNSG), “As hospital beds are being closed, we are filling the gap by 
providing private home care at a very cheap price,” continues Diana.

“Nurses are being brought to care for the elderly and people with 
disabilities under the LCP, it is no wonder that 5000 public hospital 
beds have been closed to the elderly,” adds Diana, “Where are those that 
need the hospital beds going?” asks Diana, “Those that can afford it are 
going back home and are being cared for by Philippine-trained nurses who 
are trapped as domestic workers under the LCP. With the LCP, affluent 
Canadian families can get a foreign-trained nurse to care for their 
elderly, while paying them the wages of a domestic worker,” she concludes.

The rally will also target provincial politicians and bureaucrats for 
their habitual lack of political will to address the presence of
Filipino nurses trapped in the LCP. The BC PNP, the provincial-federal 
project that fast-tracks immigration process of foreign-trained nurses, 
has been ineffective in meeting the numbers of nurses needed to
alleviate the nursing shortage and prioritizing the applicants of 
foreign-trained nurses already in the province, especially Filipino 
nurses under the LCP.

For the last 10 years, FNSG has been providing community-based programs 
for its over 500 members and contacts of Philippine-trained nurses in  BC.
These community programs have proven successful - over 160 members  have
become registered nurses in BC, 10 of whom have recently passed the 
national nursing exam in January 2005.

“Despite FNSG’s track record of effectively supporting their members to 
become registered nurses in B.C., provincial politicians have still made 
no concerted effort to support such successful community-based efforts,” 
states Cecilia Diocson, registered nurse and Chair of the National 
Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada, “We’ve met with countless 
provincial bureaucrats and politicians from the Ministry of Health, 
Labour, Community, Aboriginal and Women Services to no avail,” Diocson 
concludes

Recognizing foreign-trained nurses under the LCP and supporting
successful community-based initiatives is a cost effective strategy to 
alleviating the nursing shortage for the short-term and long-term.

Filipino Nurses Support Group Rally
Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson Side)
Thursday, May 12, 2005
12:00 noon

For more information contact fnsg at kalayaancentre.net
<mailto:fnsg at kalayaancentre.net> or 604-255-6870





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