Thai Health Ministry Unfazed By Nurses' Strike Call

[webfact]

Health Ministry unfazed by nurses' strike call

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Public Health Ministry yesterday shrugged off a threat by nurses with temporary employee status to stage a three-day strike. The strike would start on January 1.

"We believe most nurses will not join the strike," ministry deputy permanent secretary Dr Suphan Sritham-ma said. "But of course, they have the right to do so," he added.

The network of nurses working at state hospitals as temporary employees has threatened to stage the strike in retaliation for the government's perceived failure to address their grievances.

They have been promised civil-servant status, but have been left disappointed for years.

Suphan, however, explained that his ministry would ensure that all 17,000 nurses working as temporary employees now would get better employment status within three years.

Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong also earlier vowed to turn 4,000 medical workers, including nurses at state hospitals, into civil servants very soon and to offer longer employment contracts to the remaining nurses.

"We will definitely try to solve their problem," he said.

Wannachart Talert, secretary of the protesting nurse network, said some groups of nurses with temporary employee status were happy with the Public Health Ministry's proposed measures because they were invited to the ministry's meetings.

"But the meetings have left out some other groups of nurses," he said.

He said various groups of temporary-employee nurses would meet on SaturdayDecember 1 to decide on their next move.

"We really hope that all temporary-employee-status nurses will be recruited as civil servants," Wannachart said.

Wannawipa Srihomchai, who chairs a network of temporary-status nurses in the Central region, said her group had never been invited to any meeting by the Public Health Ministry.

"If we know for sure that the ministry offers a satisfactory measure, we will not go on strike," she said.

-- The Nation 2012-11- 29

[dcutman]

"We will definitely try to solve their problem," he said.

Right up to the point, of the next cabinet reshuffle, and the next guy can deal with it.

[asiawatcher]

"... "We believe most nurses will not join the strike," ministry deputy permanent secretary Dr Suphan Sritham-ma said. "But of course, they have the right to do so," he added."

What an arrogant S.o.B. Make it a week long strike nurses. Prove your point with a vengeance.

[jaltsc]

What a diplomatic way of saying: "Screw you nurses!!!"

I think the best way to help solve this problem is to require and restrict all government employees, elected and appointed, to local government hospitals for all their medical care.

[Pib]

The govt could care less....if the nurses strike they will probably take some public backlash and the govt will try to magnify this backlash by sounding concerned for the public and making statements putting the nurses in a bad light. I'm sure the govt is counting on this scaring the nurses into not striking. But IMO unless the nurses coordinate strikes across the country the govt will just continue to give them lip service and act unfazed.

[zakk9]

After 2015, or maybe sooner if the Thai government thinks it's a good idea, Thailand will be flooded by Filipino nurses who'll probably accept less pay and any contract their given to sign (in Thai language), so this is a problem of limited duration. Those in charge probably all use private hospitals anyway. What was the problem again?

[MaxLee]

The govt could care less....if the nurses strike they will probably take some public backlash and the govt will try to magnify this backlash by sounding concerned for the public and making statements putting the nurses in a bad light. I'm sure the govt is counting on this scaring the nurses into not striking. But IMO unless the nurses coordinate strikes across the country the govt will just continue to give them lip service and act unfazed.

In other words, Yingluck and co. aren't trying to do anything about this problem, and just turn a deaf ear on everyone, as usual, Generations of the evil feud Thai governments, run by Thai-Chinese corruption tradition, never listen to anyone, but themselves, to keep a clean face...

[caughtintheact]

They have been promised civil-servant status, but have been left disappointed for years.

If the above is factual, then the nurses have a legitimate grievance, but there is far more to this.

When a prior government makes promises, and a later government is put on the carpet for not meeting and possibly not being able to meet those promises, is that really the fault of the current government? Or is this government under no obligation to solve this because it did not make the promise? And if this government is replaced in the next elections, would it not be ironic if the next government has the same people that made the original promises and won't be able to keep them either? Isn't the root of the problem the populist politicial promises?

I don't see anyone asking where the money will come from to pay the short and long term costs of making these 17,000 positions permanent. Will the 30 baht fee have to be increased? Will there have to be a new fee? Will taxes have to be raised? Will the increases be called robbing the poor [patients] to pay the better off nurses? I doubt it. Maybe the money will come from the profits of the rice pledging scam ...uh sorry, scheme

I also don't see anyone asking if the threat of the nurses is valid. Are there enough nursing vacancies in the private sector where they can work if the government says it cannot make them permanent? If there are, then why haven't many of them already moved to the private sector? After all, the money and hours are usually better, and they still do the job of nursing. On the other hand, if many were to go to the private sector, will they be accused of being selfish because the government sector will then be short those nurses?

Is the media part of the problem for not looking at the whole picture in each article?

I would not expect much from the implementation of the AEC. It has just been delayed a year to write more free flow restrictions....whoops, I mean regulations for the free flow of goods and services, so don't depend on the flows being free, and if the flows are not free, then it will result in a(nother) costly exercise in futility.

[culicine]

"... "We believe most nurses will not join the strike," ministry deputy permanent secretary Dr Suphan Sritham-ma said. "But of course, they have the right to do so," he added."

What an arrogant S.o.B. Make it a week long strike nurses. Prove your point with a vengeance.

Yes , most won't join because they are contracted and could possibly lose their jobs or any benefits they already have. Even 17000 is not a huge number; they need support from regular nurses. A strike by all nurses for just one day would rock this government into action.

[culicine]

After 2015, or maybe sooner if the Thai government thinks it's a good idea, Thailand will be flooded by Filipino nurses who'll probably accept less pay and any contract their given to sign (in Thai language), so this is a problem of limited duration. Those in charge probably all use private hospitals anyway. What was the problem again?

Without Thai language skills I would say Philipinos will only be employed in private hospitals with large numbers of english speaking patients.

[whybother]

They have been promised civil-servant status, but have been left disappointed for years.

If the above is factual, then the nurses have a legitimate grievance, but there is far more to this.

When a prior government makes promises, and a later government is put on the carpet for not meeting and possibly not being able to meet those promises, is that really the fault of the current government? Or is this government under no obligation to solve this because it did not make the promise? And if this government is replaced in the next elections, would it not be ironic if the next government has the same people that made the original promises and won't be able to keep them either? Isn't the root of the problem the populist politicial promises?

I don't see anyone asking where the money will come from to pay the short and long term costs of making these 17,000 positions permanent. Will the 30 baht fee have to be increased? Will there have to be a new fee? Will taxes have to be raised? Will the increases be called robbing the poor [patients] to pay the better off nurses? I doubt it. Maybe the money will come from the profits of the rice pledging scam ...uh sorry, scheme

I also don't see anyone asking if the threat of the nurses is valid. Are there enough nursing vacancies in the private sector where they can work if the government says it cannot make them permanent? If there are, then why haven't many of them already moved to the private sector? After all, the money and hours are usually better, and they still do the job of nursing. On the other hand, if many were to go to the private sector, will they be accused of being selfish because the government sector will then be short those nurses?

Is the media part of the problem for not looking at the whole picture in each article?

I would not expect much from the implementation of the AEC. It has just been delayed a year to write more free flow restrictions....whoops, I mean regulations for the free flow of goods and services, so don't depend on the flows being free, and if the flows are not free, then it will result in a(nother) costly exercise in futility.

"Will the 30 baht fee have to be increased? Will there have to be a new fee? " ... If they cancelled the 30 baht fee they would save some money. The collection process runs at a loss.

[MaxLee]

The Dear nurses have really been exploited by generations of corrupt governments. Here's why the governments have never bothered even taking a look at a real problem like this. They used the money for:

1. Rice scheme

2. (Fake) Mega Flood projects, which literally means; building dams at flood-prone areas, which serve as a sh***tloading area towards other provinces, in order to protect Bangkok anyway...

3. Your tax-money sponsored trips of corrupt politicians at your expense

4. 300 Baht-Wage hike, to keep the poorly educated laborer unions into the belief that the government really cares for them, but only served the objective in getting votes

5. Computer tablets, that will actually ruin the mental health being of many young kids in years to come

So there you have it.... any more questions???

After 2015, or maybe sooner if the Thai government thinks it's a good idea, Thailand will be flooded by Filipino nurses who'll probably accept less pay and any contract their given to sign (in Thai language), so this is a problem of limited duration. Those in charge probably all use private hospitals anyway. What was the problem again?

I would rather say, Burmese migrant workers, because Filipinos still cost much more than Burmese people....

[h90]

The govt could care less....if the nurses strike they will probably take some public backlash and the govt will try to magnify this backlash by sounding concerned for the public and making statements putting the nurses in a bad light. I'm sure the govt is counting on this scaring the nurses into not striking. But IMO unless the nurses coordinate strikes across the country the govt will just continue to give them lip service and act unfazed.

In other words, Yingluck and co. aren't trying to do anything about this problem, and just turn a deaf ear on everyone, as usual, Generations of the evil feud Thai governments, run by Thai-Chinese corruption tradition, never listen to anyone, but themselves, to keep a clean face...

yes and it works well....I don't even want to ask how many of these nurses will a couple of years later vote PTP if they receive a 500 or 1000 Baht for vote buying.....

And if asked why voting for the party that make you problems, they'll answer "They are all the same and it does not matter who I vote".....and so it continues.....

Of course as higher the education as less PTP voter so it might just a minority of the nurses but still bad enough...

[caughtintheact]

If they cancelled the 30 baht fee they would save some money.

Who is "They"? If you are talking about the government, how can the government save money by cancelling revenue?

The collection process runs at a loss.

A collection process can only run at a loss if the amounts collected are less than zero. If you mean that collecting 30 baht is not providing enough revenue to overcome the costs involved, that is a different story. My point was that the government will have to come up with additional money to pay for the expenses of making the nurses permanent, and if the government is to meet the demands for better working hours, then the government will have to find and have the funds to hire more nurses, or else the patients may not be getting enough nursing support.

At any rate, since the promises to the nurses were made in the past , I fail to understand why everyone is blaming this government. It has so many poor policies that it can legitimately be blamed for as Max Lee points out above, why blame it for things it did not create?.

[hellodolly]

They have been promised civil-servant status, but have been left disappointed for years.

If the above is factual, then the nurses have a legitimate grievance, but there is far more to this.

When a prior government makes promises, and a later government is put on the carpet for not meeting and possibly not being able to meet those promises, is that really the fault of the current government? Or is this government under no obligation to solve this because it did not make the promise? And if this government is replaced in the next elections, would it not be ironic if the next government has the same people that made the original promises and won't be able to keep them either? Isn't the root of the problem the populist politicial promises?

I don't see anyone asking where the money will come from to pay the short and long term costs of making these 17,000 positions permanent. Will the 30 baht fee have to be increased? Will there have to be a new fee? Will taxes have to be raised? Will the increases be called robbing the poor [patients] to pay the better off nurses? I doubt it. Maybe the money will come from the profits of the rice pledging scam ...uh sorry, scheme

I also don't see anyone asking if the threat of the nurses is valid. Are there enough nursing vacancies in the private sector where they can work if the government says it cannot make them permanent? If there are, then why haven't many of them already moved to the private sector? After all, the money and hours are usually better, and they still do the job of nursing. On the other hand, if many were to go to the private sector, will they be accused of being selfish because the government sector will then be short those nurses?

Is the media part of the problem for not looking at the whole picture in each article?

I would not expect much from the implementation of the AEC. It has just been delayed a year to write more free flow restrictions....whoops, I mean regulations for the free flow of goods and services, so don't depend on the flows being free, and if the flows are not free, then it will result in a(nother) costly exercise in futility.

You say

" Will the 30 baht fee have to be increased?"

Were you aware that it cost 50 baht to process the 30 baht fee thereby a loss of 20 baht for every fee charged. Paper shuffling is not cheap.

I personally hope every nurse in the country joins the strike for a week that should be enough to wake up the dead heads in Bangkok.

When they get it through their heads that people are more concerned with their health than Storing rice until it becomes unsalable.

Then the teachers should follow suit. Strike for smaller classes and better chances to improve their own education, Time for the government to start caring about people.

Thailand would be a garden of Paradise if it put haklf the energy into really helping it's country men as it does in White washing Thaksin.

[smedly]

well if I was a nurse contract or not I'd be very angry at this a$$holes comments, I'll bet all the nurses he's treating with total disrespect are more qualified than he will ever be - nurses go for it but do it in a way that will not put lives at risk

[whybother]

If they cancelled the 30 baht fee they would save some money.

Who is "They"? If you are talking about the government, how can the government save money by cancelling revenue?

The collection process runs at a loss.

A collection process can only run at a loss if the amounts collected are less than zero. If you mean that collecting 30 baht is not providing enough revenue to overcome the costs involved, that is a different story. My point was that the government will have to come up with additional money to pay for the expenses of making the nurses permanent, and if the government is to meet the demands for better working hours, then the government will have to find and have the funds to hire more nurses, or else the patients may not be getting enough nursing support.

At any rate, since the promises to the nurses were made in the past , I fail to understand why everyone is blaming this government. It has so many poor policies that it can legitimately be blamed for as Max Lee points out above, why blame it for things it did not create?.

If it costs more to collect the fee than the fee itself, then it runs at a loss. So if they (the government) cancelled the fee and the collection of it, they would save money.

Yes, if they increased the fee, they would also save money, but they would first need to increase it enough to cover the cost of collecting it before they could use some of it to pay nurses.

[moe666]

After 2015, or maybe sooner if the Thai government thinks it's a good idea, Thailand will be flooded by Filipino nurses who'll probably accept less pay and any contract their given to sign (in Thai language), so this is a problem of limited duration. Those in charge probably all use private hospitals anyway. What was the problem again?

Why would they come here, PI nurses have better options especially the ones who want to travel and are willing to jump thru the hoops to work overseas. I know a nurseing stududent who is getting ready to take her exam in Dec. I mentioned to her about working in Singapore and her commit was not enough money to make it worth while. These girls are not dumbies and have a huge network for information and suppport especially where the best jobs are. One of my friends classmates was dropped from the program 6 months before graduation and she immediately went to manila applied for a position in Canada as a nurses aid and was immediately accepted and began training. No Thailand will only be a blip, it could be used by these girls as a two year training ground for better jobs in private hospitals

[Ricardo]

Come on Yingluck, treat your employees properly, you've run a business (allegedly) so you know it doesn't make sense, to piss them off !

They have right on their side, how can a populist-government afford to be seen to treat dedicated nurses like this ?

And why aren't the Red-Shirt-leader MPs making a fuss about this ?

Are they afraid that their letters-of-resignation will be used against them, if they do ?

"better employment status within three years" is meaningless, when that puts it until after the next election !

Time for PTP and PM-Yingluck to look after this neglected/abused part of the workforce, IMO.