Singapore — The Straits Times (ST) reported that the Philippines’ announcement to suspend work permits at once for nurses who wish to work in different countries may affect Singapore, as around one-third of nurses are foreigners.
ST reported that as of Dec 2019, 7,600 nurses are Filipinos, and a spokesman from the Ministry of Health (MOH) was quoted as saying it “will continue to assess the situation and ensure that our nursing workforce is able to meet our healthcare needs.”
Filipinos comprise around 29 per cent of the enrolled nurse workforce, making the Philippines the country with the largest number of nurses in Singapore as of 2019’s data.
This announcement comes even as Singapore needs to have a strong healthcare workforce, as the country battles an uptick in Covid-19 cases.
Netizens, however, responded to the news by saying that the country should not depend on a foreign workforce.
One way to do this, one netizen suggested, is to raise salaries.
Others underlined how difficult nurses’ jobs are.
Some made the case for nurses to be treated better, so that more locals would be encouraged to choose it as a career.
/TISG
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