Minister assures nurses facing job loss

Imran Mojib, Special Correspondent

The government of India is concerned about the problem of Indian nurses who are facing threat of job loss due to introduction of a new educational requirement by the UAE authorities, said a visiting Indian minister. He also assured the nurses that he will take up the issue with the authorities in the UAE.

India’s Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan made the assurance while meeting a group of Indian nurses during his visit to Sharjah late on Wednesday. He also promised to meet the UAE ministers of health and education to find a solution for their issues.

The UAE has recently made a bachelor’s degree in nursing as the minimum educational qualification for registered nurses. Thus many nurses working for years with a diploma in nursing now face threat of job loss. Several nurses are facing another crisis as their requests for equivalency certificate for their diploma certificates are getting rejected.

Later, speaking at a community function to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the minister said that the government of India has taken up the issue in right earnest.

He said that several nurses who have obtained diploma from Indian states other than Kerala are facing issues despite completing bridge courses. The government of India has taken it up in right earnest.

Muraleedharan said, “We have provided the requirements that the UAE government has been asking for and I am sure due consideration will be given to the documents provided by us and I hope that there will be positive outcome to this issue and a solution will be found in a very short span of time.”

Regarding issues related to the distance education courses, he said, “We will make all efforts so that those who have been working in this country, for no fault of theirs, will not be put to trouble. I hope the benevolent Rulers of the emirates will definitely understand the plight of the people working here for long.”

The minister assured the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) of government’s supports stating that the NRIs are a major pillar of strength for India and their welfare is a major priority for the government.

Earlier, paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi the minister stressed on the need to follow Gandhi’s principles to meet challenges of the modern world and translate his vision to protect environment into reality.