Government to recruit nurses for Germany

MANILA -- The Philippines will be deploying soon Filipino nurses to Germany, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.

Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe Natividad met with officials of the Federal Employment Agency, International Placement Services (ZAV) in Bonn last week to discuss the deployment of Filipino nurses to Germany and the upcoming visit of German Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Ursula von der Leyen to the Philippines, the department said.

Von der Leyen will witness the signing of an agreement between the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and ZAV to formalize the arrangement for the deployment.

Through partner agencies like the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH) and CIM (Centrum für Internationale Migration und Entwicklung), the ZAV will ensure that Filipino nurses will have adequate linguistic and professional preparation, free of charge, prior to entry to Germany.

Under the "triple win formula," the agencies are responsible for the successful integration of the nurses into the German labour market and in their social environment.

The deployment of Filipino nurses is expected to address the current shortages experienced by German hospitals, the DFA said.

"It is all systems go for the Triple Win Project. When the agreement is signed, then we have a cooperation framework that enables Filipino nurses to work in Germany," Natividad said.

She also stressed that the agreement protects Filipino workers' rights.

"Under the agreement, Filipino workers may not be employed under working conditions less favorable than those comparable for German workers," Natividad said.

The deployment of nurses is part of enhanced labour cooperation discussed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle during the latter's official visit to Manila in February this year. The two ministers called for cooperation across the board between the Philippines and Germany as the two countries celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations. (SDR/Sunnex)