‘Contracted’ nurses bemoan discrepancy in salaries and benefits

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Number of nurses resigned, opted to work in private medical sector

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 29: Nurses which are vital arm of the medical sector, and whose role has increased due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic doubled the burdens and responsibilities on medical and nursing staff – the white army that battled the pandemic by putting their life on the line, suffer mainly from the reluctance of Kuwaiti youth to join this profession, because the Ministry of Health follows what they call a repulsive policy which has led to the resignation of about 1,600 nurses since the emergence of the Corona pandemic until now, according to the Nursing Association, which confirmed that a number of nurses have resigned and opted to work in the private medical sector, while others left to work in other countries because the concerned authorities have failed to appreciate their dedication to work, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The Ministry of Health does not only follow the policy of repulsion of the nursing staff, but it has signed contracts with companies to supply the nursing staff. To add insult to injury these companies do not pay the nurses their end of service indemnities at the end of the contract and the Ministry of Health has been a mere spectator when the nurses seek help. In the appointment of medical and nursing staff, according to a source from the Civil Service Commission told the daily, the Ministry of Health is taking illogical steps to fill the shortage of nurses, because it resorts to private companies to provide nursing staff to work in government hospitals and health centers, which doubles the cost on the state budget, and opens the door to other problems, most notably, the health services are affected when the contracts of nurses expire and new contracts are signed, in addition to this some tenders and contracts opens the door for vested interest to manipulate and exploit these contracts for personal interests. A number of these nurses whose contracts have expired gave Al-Qabas details of what happened, stressing that their number is estimated in hundreds and how they are hired by companies to work for the Ministry of Health, and how they have been deprived of their benefits since 2012.

The nurses, speaking on behalf of their colleagues, added, “A few days ago, we were surprised by a letter from the hospital administration where we work, that our last working day would be on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, although we were not notified by the contracting company. They said, “We have not received our full salaries for the period of work.” Some of them complained their salaries do not exceed 180 dinars per month at the beginning of appointment.

According to doctors in the Ministry of Health, the percentage of Kuwaitis in the nursing profession does not exceed 4 which is the lowest rate of Kuwaitization in all government jobs, as a result of which the ministry turned to local contracting companies to supply the nursing staff. The doctors agree to what the nurses have told Al-Qabas about their suffering, saying the nurse who works at the Ministry of Health receives a salary from the company that is less than half the salary of the nurse hired directly by the Ministry of Health, although everyone performs the same work and does all the chores, and in addition, the company’s nurse does not enjoy the same benefits that the Ministry’s nurse gets.

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