By Muazzam Khan

Nepal scheduled to sign labor pact to send nurses to Britain. The Royal College of Nursing has estimated that the average annual salary of a registered nurse in the UK is £33,384, or Rs5.07 million as per Friday’s exchange rate. Nepali nurses will be permitted to work in Britain under a bilateral labor agreement the two governments are slated to sign next week.

A cabinet meeting held on June 14 gave the green signal to the government to conclude the deal allowing Nepal to send nurses to the United Kingdom. It is one of the finest proposals that Nepal has received in the labor sector, under-secretary at the Foreign Employment Management Section of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

The details, including the qualifications for Nepali nurses to be eligible to work in the UK, is yet to be unveiled. However, that nurses under the age of 45 years with at least two years of professional practice meet the rudimentary requirement.

All candidates will need to score 7 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or B plus in Occupational English Test (OET). Hopeful Nepali nurses will have to appear in the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council examination within three months after being selected to obtain the status of a nurse.

Those who fail to clear the examination three times will not be eligible to become a nurse in the UK. Before acquiring the status of a nurse, they will serve as an assistant nurse. After clearing the council’s examination, Nepali nurses will receive the same salary as their British counterparts.

The Royal College of Nursing has estimated that the average annual salary of a registered nurse in the UK is £33,384, or Rs5.07 million as per Friday’s exchange rate. The National Health Service pay for nurses is around different bandings.

Afresh trained, registered nurses start at Band 5, and the most qualified and experienced nursing consultants and specialists can climb all the way to the uppermost pay band, which is Band 9. The starting salary for a Band 5 Nurse was £25,655 or Rs3.89 million as of February-end. While it is a good opportunity for Nepali nurses to work in the UK, we have to consider its impact on Nepal’s health sector.

Given the opportunities of Nepali nurses finding jobs in more foreign countries in the coming days, Nepal need to raise the possibility of nursing education in Nepal. It is a challenge for Nepal while sending them abroad and also keeping a balance of nurses inside the country.

At the moment, Nepali nurses have been complaining about their pay structure in Nepal, which they say is labor misuse. In Nepal, hospitals hardly pay Rs15, 000 monthly. According to the Nepal Nursing Council, 68,316 nurses, 36,446 supplementary nurse midwives, 845 foreign nurses, 598 specialists and 28 midwives were registered in Nepal as of March 27 but there is no data on the number of unemployed nurses.

Although, working abroad has both challenges and opportunities. There is, of course, a learning opportunity. If these nurses return to Nepal after working in the UK, it will boost the efficiency of the health sector. Numerous nurses in Nepal are jobless, and those with a job too do not earn enough to endure themselves and their families. If they get a chance to work in the UK, they will definitely not only earn foreign exchange but also bring prosperities to their own families.

However, the nurses should be sent in such a way that it will not disturb the health sector in Nepal. The government should consider the long-term impacts. Full information about the necessities for nurses to be qualified to apply to work in the UK will be known when the Foreign Employment Board publishes a notice calling for applications after receiving a demand for nurses from the UK government.

The information concerning the quantity and kinds of nurses the UK will demand is also yet to be identified. The nurses will be sent only after holding deliberations with the related shareholders such as the Health Ministry, Education Ministry and Nursing Council among others.

The government desires the nurses to return to Nepal after completing their tenure in the UK. In order to avert them from permanently settling there, the government of Nepal will only grant labor consent for five years. The labor authorization will be given for five years, and the nurses will have to return to Nepal after completing their tenure.

It is a zero-cost job since the employer will bear all the costs. “Even the cost of the IELTS or OET is refundable. Currently the ministry is developing a web portal for the online application process. The government of Nepal will have no hand in the selection process.

Apart from sending nurses to foreign countries, the government needs to work on refining the condition of the nursing sector in the country. The nurses, particularly in rural areas, are working in deprived circumstances. The government must progress the employed conditions there. And more vacancies need to be opened in diverse sectors where nurses are needed. If the agreement is signed, the UK will be the 11th country with which Nepal has inked labor agreements. The government of the Maldives too has shown interest in hiring Nepali nurses. We are trying to sign a bilateral agreement with the Maldives.

Similarly, Japan opened up its labor market to Nepalese as specified skilled workers in March 2019 after the two countries signed a memorandum of cooperation to send Nepali workers with the status of residence.

Japan will recruit Nepalese in 14 sectors as per the memorandum of cooperation. Key sectors include nursing care, agriculture, food and beverage manufacturing, and the food service industry. Since last month, Nepalese have started to be hired in nursing care jobs. Moreover the nursing sector, the prospects of Nepalese going to work in the UK in other sectors in the coming days depend on Nepal’s diplomatic mediation skill.