Angelite Nurses

A report from Khaleej Times , a news website said that the a freeze order on the deployment of Filipino nurses to Unite Arab Emirates (UAE) General Authority for Health Services was issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) since September of this year.

The said order was released in connection with the court cases of 100 Filipino nurses working at Al Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi who were terminated after failing to pass a clinical assessment tests done in Abu Dhabi. Also, the employment contracts of 17 of the 100 Filipino nurses working there were not renewed.  The cause and reason for termination of the nurses become controversial because the outcome of the tests is surprising and unbelievable.

The nurses who did not passed the exam have been working in the UAE hospital for 10-25 years and are also Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) passer.

The said freeze order would remain until the court cases of 100 Filipino nurses are resolved in court.

Philippine Ambassador Libran N. Cabactulan, said: “This is the first time that Filipino nurses working at Al Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi are said to have failed to qualify the clinical assessments. Indeed, this is very surprising.”

Cabactulan was also dismayed by the answer of a top Al Mafraq official when asked him if massive termination could ever happen in America, England or the Philippines.

Cabactulan said, “His answer was a ‘No’, citing labour unions there. It was as if they can do anything here or that the rights of the workers can be trampled upon because no one can stand up for their rights. I even said ‘go ahead’ when one of his comments seemed to suggest that they would recruit nurses from elsewhere.”