The Cyprus Turkish nurses and midwives union on Tuesday announced that an interim order had been issued in their favour regarding a lawsuit they had filed against the north’s ‘health ministry’s’ decision to allow “seasonal” nurses to work in the north.
The ‘ministry’ had issued a decision which would have allowed for nurses from overseas to work in the north’s public hospitals without having registered with the union.
However, with the order now having been frozen, the order has been frozen.
Union chairman Ali Ozgocmen said he had gone to court “for the honour and dignity of the profession”.
“We call on the government to put an end to this unserious practice which threatens the public interest, public health, professional honour and dignity, and to abide by the rules of the law,” he said.
He then called on the ‘government’ to “stop messing with our profession’s honour and dignity”, pointing out that it is “mandatory by law for those who want to practice the profession of nursing and midwifery to register with the profession”.
“Doing otherwise constitutes a crime,” he said.
The problems facing Turkish Cypriot nurses mirror those of their Greek Cypriot counterparts, with nurses’ union Oiyk-Sek having in September reiterated their long-held position that the government should aim to find nurses who meet the current requirements to be hired in Cyprus, rather than changing those requirements to be able to attract more nurses.
“It is necessary to implement the existing legislation and respect the criteria it sets, as well as the European directives concerning professional qualifications,” they said.
To this end, they added that “particular attention must be paid to [prospective hirees’] knowledge of the Greek language, with an emphasis on maintaining the written exams as an integral part of the evaluation process.”
Reports had surfaced in June that the health ministry was planning to reduce the minimum Greek language requirement for third country nationals who wish to practise nursing in Cyprus, with trade unions up in arms about the reported plans.
Fellow union Pasydy expressed “strong concern and disquiet” over the reports, while Pasyno chairman Christos Christodoulou insisted that the existing law “must be applied without exceptions” as it relates to Greek language requirements.
In addition to the Greek language requirements, Oiyk-Sek demanded that should third country nationals be granted work permits to enter Cyprus’ nursing and midwifery sector, a new collective labour agreement be signed.
“This contract, which must be signed by Oiyk-Sek and [fellow trade union] Peo, must be applied in its entirety for all workers, including those from third countries,” they said.
