Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

The Committee notes the Government’s report which replies only partially to the points raised in previous comments.

Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the Convention. With reference to the Government’s earlier statement that the health sector is undergoing reform with a view to laying down the foundations of a national health-care policy, the Committee once again requests the Government to supply full particulars on any progress made to this end and to specify how it is ensured that the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned are fully associated with the formulation of the new health-care policy. The Committee would be particularly interested in any measures designed to improve the quality of nursing services, especially in terms of increased motivation and productivity of nursing personnel.

Article 2, paragraph 2(a), and Article 3, paragraph 1. Further to its previous comment on nursing education and training, the Committee would appreciate receiving more detailed information on the levels, content and duration of nursing education, including copies of any legislative or administrative text regulating the operation of secondary medical schools, the list of nursing occupations and the certification of nursing personnel.

Article 2, paragraph 2(b), and Article 5, paragraph 2. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it had requested the Government to provide a copy of the sectoral wage agreement concluded between the Ministry of Health and the Health Workers’ Union in May 1999. As this document has not been received, the Committee asks the Government to indicate whether the above agreement is still in force or has been replaced by another prescribing new pay scales for nursing personnel and to transmit a copy as appropriate. In this connection, the Committee would be grateful to the Government for providing up-to-date information on the remuneration levels currently practised both in the public and the private sectors and to indicate any additional incentives, financial or other, designed to retain qualified nurses in the profession. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to report on any new developments concerning the expansion of the private health sector and to specify whether any collective agreement has already been concluded for determining the conditions of employment and work of nursing staff in private health-care institutions.

Article 7. With reference to the Government’s statement that special standards and regulations are being established for nursing personnel by means of occupational safety regulations and ministerial orders, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide a concise overview of those standards and supply copies of the most relevant texts.

Part V of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practise, including statistics on the number of nursing staff by sectors of activity and by levels of training, and also to indicate any practical difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Convention. Furthermore, the Committee hopes that the Government will supply in its next report copies of all the texts which have not been transmitted previously to the Office, such as Order No. 219 of 25 November 1993 respecting the remuneration of health-care personnel financed out of the state budget and Order No. 10-1 of 25 March 1999 on compulsory arbitration.