Jpepa slots for Pinoy nurses in Japan 'not enough' - Loren

[pinoy_guy]

jpepa slots for pinoy nurses in japan 'not enough' - loren

[color=dimgray]09/14/2007 | 12:17 pm

. . . senator loren legarda on friday questioned the "highly restrictive" quota-based deployment of filipino nurses and caregivers . . . under the japan-philippines economic partnership agreement (jpepa).

"we definitely would have preferred the market demand-driven deployment of filipino nurses and caregivers, instead of a prohibitive quota system," said legarda, chair of the senate committee on economic affairs.

market demand-driven deployment means that japanese hospitals and nursing homes, on their own, just like in the united states, would be free to enlist filipino nurses, physical therapists and caregivers, as needed.

. . . the (philippine) government is duty-bound to secure for filipino professionals the greatest opportunity to cover this demand," legarda stressed.

"we now have more than 630,000 students enrolled in nursing schools. the government is obliged to create job opportunities for these future nurses, and push wide open all foreign labor markets for their services," legarda said.

. . . the philippine nurses association inc. (pna) said filipino nurses "got a raw deal" under the jpepa. besides the tight allocation, the pna also lamented that filipino nurses in japan "would have to start as assistant nurses for three years."

"we have the best nurses in the world. they should at least enjoy the same status as japanese nurses from the start. reducing filipino nurses to mere 'assistants' for three years is definitely not a good deal," pna president dr. leah samaco-paquiz said.

she added that other asian countries "were able to get better terms for their nurses and other professionals" under similar agreements with japan.

under the jpepa, only 400 filipino nurses and 600 caregivers would be allowed into japan in the first two years, subject to re-negotiation thereafter. filipino nurses and caregivers would also have to undergo a six-month language training.

the professional association of japanese nurses lobbied hard to restrict the entry of filipino nurses.

[Farmacia]

Well this means the respectable senators had to disapprove this law.