5,000 nurses threaten strike in dispute over temporary jobs

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5,000 nurses threaten strike in dispute over temporary jobs
By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
THE NATION

 

File Photo

 

BANGKOK: -- MORE THAN 5,000 contract nurses have threatened to go on strike if the government refuses to hire them as permanent staff.

 

The Cabinet on Tuesday rejected a proposal to add 10,992 positions to the civil-servant system. 

 

A group of nurses working in state-run hospitals said yesterday that more than 15,000 nurses were working as temporary employees of the government and receiving low wages and no civil service benefits.

 

A representative of the Temporary Employee Professional Nurse Network, who requested anonymity, said his group had started a campaign asking all temporary nurses to show their power by changing their Facebook profile pictures to include a message that if they are not registered as civil servants, they will resign.

 

“This is a chronic problem in our public-health network, because we have 3,000 to 4,000 new nurses entering every year, but there are no more than 1,000 job positions as nurses in the civil-servant system,” he said.

 

Moratorium until 2026

 

“Every year the line for registering in the civil-servant system gets longer and longer and right now there are around 15,000 nurses in line and receiving only a Bt10,000 to Bt13,000 salary, but they have to work eight hours per shift and 30 shifts per month without proper welfare and annual raises.”

 

The nurses cannot tolerate the situation any longer and if nothing changes with the Cabinet resolution, more than 5,000 of them will leave the job, the representative said.

 

A strike would aggravate the already severe problem of a nurse shortage in public hospitals.

 

The May 9 Cabinet resolution on the proposal to increase civil-servant positions of the Public Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Office stated that the Cabinet had approved the increase of civil servants based on the report of the official workforce target and policy-setting committee.

 

The three main recommendations were to approve only 450 civil servant positions for hospitals in rural and border areas and forbid the Public Health Ministry from reserving more civil-servant positions for nurses until fiscal 2026.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30314838

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-11

[Thechook]

Go into any hospital in Thailand and you will see a flood of nurses, most performing clerical duties which could be performed by others.

[colinneil]

Nurses do a fantastic job, most of them are good hard working and dedicated people.

They deserve to be paid a proper wage and get  civil service benefits.

 Typical government penny pinching.

We got money for submarines/tanks etc, but not got money to pay hard working nurses.

 

I for one am extremely grateful to Thai nurses, who cared extremely well for me in my 7 months in hospital.

 

Pay them now you tight fisted morons.

[Hereinthailand]

1 hour ago, Thechook said:

Go into any hospital in Thailand and you will see a flood of nurses, most performing clerical duties which could be performed by others.

You have no idea of the workload and low pay these nurses do and the shit they put up with, (a-hole illiterate god complex doctors for one) !!!!!! Every gov hospital is swamped with patients. Of all the gov jobs nurses are the most overworked and underpaid civil servants in the system. All they want is fair pay and some regular working hours, not 80-100 hour weeks at 8K a month (even less at some hospitals). My wife has 26 years as a nurse here and we never see each other it seems and she cant say no when she is tired and wants to go home. The big problem is even with the low pay and long hours the gov quit giving new nurses civil service contracts that at least give them some xtras like pension to make their hard work and long hours a little more acceptable. You are a ignorant simple minded typical falang that prob never did an honest days work in his life and got paid quite well for it, well good for you. okay mods you can ban me now.

[darksidedog]

2026? Another 9 years before it is even possible to think about employing nurses as actual nurses. Further proof (as if any were needed), that this Government is hopelessly incapable of doing anything that is good for the people of this country. We will end up with loads of expensive military hardware, a Press that can't say anything and a populace downtrodden alongside a shambles of infrastructure. The sooner they are out of power the better.

[muzmurray]

40 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Nurses do a fantastic job, most of them are good hard working and dedicated people.

They deserve to be paid a proper wage and get  civil service benefits.

 Typical government penny pinching.

We got money for submarines/tanks etc, but not got money to pay hard working nurses.

 

I for one am extremely grateful to Thai nurses, who cared extremely well for me in my 7 months in hospital.

 

Pay them now you tight fisted morons.

 

"We" ? Are you Thai ?

[Rhys]

  MOPH and PBRI have mismanaged this situation.   Does every province need a nursing school?   However those nurses in the system, please do take care of them as they are angels, work very hard, and when needed many heed the call.

 

 

[maewang99]

good for you. go girls!

but they will increasingly be in the driver's seat. and it may be the best seat in town as well. demographics and AI. guaranteed.

don't let them work you to illness yourselves. we will need you.

Edited May 11, 2017 by maewang99

[colinneil]

11 minutes ago, muzmurray said:

 

"We" ? Are you Thai ?

 

Why ask that??

Everybody on TV knows i am English.

 

[r136dg]

16 minutes ago, Hereinthailand said:

Every gov hospital is swamped with patients.

And a great deal of these irritable, ungrateful people don't even need to be there. Bog down the system for some paracetamol. 

I know emergency room nurses take a lot of crap from patients also, don't know what an 8 hour day is, and occasionally work 3 shifts with about 5 hours of sleep somewhere within that 3 shift stretch.

God bless them & the best of luck to them!!!

[baboon]

Workers who provide a tangible and useful service to society. Best of luck to them and those like them. Down with the parasites and bean counters!

[simoh1490]

This is not a supply problem it's a budget problem, at least 19 governement hospitals nationwide are broke and the rest can't afford the cost of increasing the salaries and status of those nurses. The cause? An ageing population, one of the most severe anywhere.

[Fulwell53]

47 minutes ago, Hereinthailand said:

You have no idea of the workload and low pay these nurses do and the shit they put up with, (a-hole illiterate god complex doctors for one) !!!!!! Every gov hospital is swamped with patients. Of all the gov jobs nurses are the most overworked and underpaid civil servants in the system. All they want is fair pay and some regular working hours, not 80-100 hour weeks at 8K a month (even less at some hospitals). My wife has 26 years as a nurse here and we never see each other it seems and she cant say no when she is tired and wants to go home. The big problem is even with the low pay and long hours the gov quit giving new nurses civil service contracts that at least give them some xtras like pension to make their hard work and long hours a little more acceptable. You are a ignorant simple minded typical falang that prob never did an honest days work in his life and got paid quite well for it, well good for you. okay mods you can ban me now.

Go easy. The poor man's only pleasure in life is bleating about something he has no knowledge or experience of.

Take away that pleasure from the poor old dear and he'll be a candidate for his local flying club.

[Fulwell53]

9 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

This is not a supply problem it's a budget problem, at least 19 governement hospitals nationwide are broke and the rest can't afford the cost of increasing the salaries and status of those nurses. The cause? An ageing population, one of the most severe anywhere.

Lots of fat old foreigners and low life tourists with no insurance doesnt help things.

Like with many other countries public hospitals are doing it tough.

I agree with many who say why no money for schools and hospitals but plenty for submarines and planes etc.

Unfortunately the world's defence industries ( mainly USA ) have us convinced defence spending is non negotiable.

The jingoists and colonel blimps in society have bought this codswallop as usual.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Fulwell53

[yellowboat]

Thailand is lucky that they have as many nurses as they do.  Other countries experience a severe shortages.  If these fine, hardworking young women spoke English, they would probably find jobs outside of Thailand.  It is a glaring problem that the current government needs to attend to. 

[simoh1490]

3 minutes ago, Fulwell53 said:

Lots of fat old foreigners and low life tourists with no insurance doesnt help things.

Like with many other countries public hospitals are doing it tough.

I agree with many who say why no money for schools and hospitals but plenty for submarines and planes etc.

Unfortunately the world's defence industries ( mainly USA ) have us convinced defence spending is non negotiable.

The jingoists and colonel blimps in society have bought this codswallop as usual.

You're confused: the foreigners who compound the problem are those from nearby countries, specifically Myanmar. In Phuket alone there are 300,000 Burmese workers, half of whom don't have any medical insurance, that's why he governement hospitals there are over budget as a result of non-payment - Western tourists and expats are a very very small percentage of that problem, so small as to be insignificant.

 

As for defence vs healthcare: I suppose one could follow the UK model, cut the armed forces to near zero AND don't put money into the NHS whilst keeping nurses salaries low!

[atsiii]

Is this article correct?  They must work 30 x 8 hour shift per month for 10k to 13k baht with no benefits??? That means working every day with one day off every other month, and extra shifts in February!  They are not getting hired because they are slave labor!!

[shanesox]

What to expect from a military junta government! The economy Failing under it and public health going same way !


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[NextStationBangkok]

3 hours ago, Thechook said:

Go into any hospital in Thailand and you will see a flood of nurses, most performing clerical duties which could be performed by others.

I fully agree. And private hospital have specialized nurses for the following, and each doctor visit they have 350 as Nurse and equipment fee for the following specialized skills and equipments.

 

1. Thermometer & temperature checking.

2. Scale marked with centimeters, and height checking.

3. Weighing machine in Kilos and check your weight upto 120 KG, after that approximately depends on your size.

4. Blood pressure machine and only God know what they check, but our heart beats faster after looking at their eyes.

 

For these special skills they and their special machines are paid that 350 each time.

 

Worth getting 1 hour massage for 350.

[Kabula]

Are these registered nurses with years of nursing education?

 

If so, they deserve what they are asking for.

 

I have deep respect for all nurses, but the first changes should be directed to the registered nurses with the most education, certified as registered and with the most seniority.

[Mangkhut]

1 hour ago, Hereinthailand said:

You have no idea of the workload and low pay these nurses do and the shit they put up with, (a-hole illiterate god complex doctors for one) !!!!!! Every gov hospital is swamped with patients. Of all the gov jobs nurses are the most overworked and underpaid civil servants in the system. All they want is fair pay and some regular working hours, not 80-100 hour weeks at 8K a month (even less at some hospitals). My wife has 26 years as a nurse here and we never see each other it seems and she cant say no when she is tired and wants to go home. The big problem is even with the low pay and long hours the gov quit giving new nurses civil service contracts that at least give them some xtras like pension to make their hard work and long hours a little more acceptable. You are a ignorant simple minded typical falang that prob never did an honest days work in his life and got paid quite well for it, well good for you. okay mods you can ban me now.

Truer words have never been written on this forum.

[hansnl]

1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

2026? Another 9 years before it is even possible to think about employing nurses as actual nurses. Further proof (as if any were needed), that this Government is hopelessly incapable of doing anything that is good for the people of this country. We will end up with loads of expensive military hardware, a Press that can't say anything and a populace downtrodden alongside a shambles of infrastructure. The sooner they are out of power the better.

You have the misguided idea former governments did a better job?

Well, dream on.

[patyh]

I agree that Nurses should be given permanent jobs and civil/public servants benefits. 

 

However, I seriously think that the Government should revamp the benefits of being a civil/public servants. 

 

Rather than give them a hefty benefits, the government should be aiming at reducing the current available benefits while increasing their pay to match or close to the current private sector pay. 

 

The government should be more strict in the way personal finances of civil/public servants. Most of the civil/public servants are bogged down by debts almost equal to their income simply because it's so much easier for civil/public servants to get loan from banks. 

 

Go to the country side and I see new teachers with a pay of THB 15,000 having a 4 door Isuzu D-Max and building a new house costing 2 MILLIONS! Just because they are civil/public servants. 

 

The fact that civil servants is a iron rice bowl means that performance of the civil/public servants are not well monitored as such they are not required to improve themselves. The Government should stop spending money on research to find out why the education system is so far behind other developed SEA countries.. Just look at the English teachers at some public schools! 

 

Nurses are a group of hardworking people. Sure, it seems like we do have an oversupply of nurses, but we should give nurses the required dignity to work. They should not be paid 12k or 13k per month for working long tiring shifts, they should be given more or more rest time. The health sector needs to be revamped. I as a taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for a non-thai whose employer decides to cheap out and not even pay for social security. 

 

The whole system is a terrible, the reason people go to private hospital is not necessarily because of better care, but because it's so much better than waiting for an bloody hour to see a doctor. 

[lvr181]

"...receiving only a Bt10,000 to Bt13,000 salary..." Is that for nurse aides or for university trained fully qualified nurses?

[Hereinthailand]

12 minutes ago, patyh said:

Go to the country side and I see new teachers with a pay of THB 15,000 having a 4 door Isuzu D-Max and building a new house costing 2 MILLIONS! Just because they are civil/public servants. 

<deleted> are you talking about ? Where did teachers with new cars come into low pay for nurses, I can tell you know nothing about the medical system here by that comparison. Another thing alot of you dont realize is that unlike most civil servant jobs nurses dont have the opportunity to skim the budget, ask for money to do their job or collect xtra fees from the public for doing their jobs, etc. What they are paid is what they get. Go to any gov hospital, the only new expensive cars are the doctors and admin, the parking lot is full of scooters that nurses own and drive to work, and most of them have kids to pay for left to them by delinquent non contributing fathers. The debt most nurses have is trying to give their kids a decent education, clothing,food and a roof over their heads that doesnt leak.

[mtls2005]

Interesting that the "authorities" allowed a gathering of more than five.

[Bluespunk]

1 hour ago, muzmurray said:

 

Then why write "we" ? Surely if you are English, you should have written "they".

 

:-)

The poster was outlining the govts attitude not claiming he was Thai. 

 

Its obvious from from the context of his post. 

[JerryinTH]

17 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

"...receiving only a Bt10,000 to Bt13,000 salary..." Is that for nurse aides or for university trained fully qualified nurses?

 

University trained fully qualified nurses - as you put it. I know one working a private hospital receiving 12,000 baht per month for 6 days of work per week. Grossly underpaid for what they do. 

 

[jmacken306]

3 hours ago, colinneil said:

Nurses do a fantastic job, most of them are good hard working and dedicated people.

They deserve to be paid a proper wage and get  civil service benefits.

 Typical government penny pinching.

We got money for submarines/tanks etc, but not got money to pay hard working nurses.

 

I for one am extremely grateful to Thai nurses, who cared extremely well for me in my 7 months in hospital.

 

Pay them now you tight fisted morons.

I agree, after being here for going on 6 years (going to start volume 2 for my files), I know all the nurses by face, (sorry to many names) they are wonderful, I'm always telling them I got it,  you don't have to do that........ To hear the above, they need to have better wages, time off for family etc. (I thought family was a BIG thing here in Thailand?). I hope something is done soon, sooner than later!!!!! 

[lvr181]

1 minute ago, JerryinTH said:

 

University trained fully qualified nurses - as you put it. I know one working a private hospital receiving 12,000 baht per month for 6 days of work per week. Grossly underpaid for what they do. 

 

Wow - that is definitely wrong! I never realised that.

Just goes to show the lack of priorities of Thai governments. "Me" (the powerful/rich/connected) first and then let us big note ourselves on the world stage by wasteful military spending to protect against an unknown enemy and to hell with looking after the health, welfare and education of our citizens. 600 years of civilisation (and I use that word sparingly) and they are really still in the Dark Ages.