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1st batch of Pinoy nurses get warm welcome in Basque


The first batch of 27 Filipino nurses sent to northern Spain received a warm welcome from the Philippine Embassy upon their arrival in Basque. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the embassy held a briefing for them last Sunday, and extended consular services to the Filipino residents in Getxo-Bilbao area in Basque. “The 27 Filipino nurses arrived in Bilbao last week. Fifteen came from the province of Nueva Vizcaya, while twelve are from other provinces," the DFA said in an article on its website (www.dfa.gov.ph). It said an embassy delegation headed by Chargé d’Affaires Celia Anna Feria briefed the 27 nurses on salient aspects of Basque culture and society, and Spanish labor laws and conditions. With her were Consul Marciano de Borja, labor attaché Ramon Tionloc, and welfare officer Ma. Consolacion Marquez The deployment of Filipino health workers in Spain is part of the RP-Spain Memorandum of Understanding on Migration Flows signed in June 2006. Under the agreement, Spain will open its doors to the employment of Filipino health workers. Initially, the Filipino nurses will work as nursing assistants and caregivers in four Basque homes for the elderly (residencias de mayores) operated by Urgatzi, Igurco, Residencial Aulaga and Olimpia Bass. They have a one-year renewable contract. The Spanish Ministry of Education will evaluate for accreditation purposes the nursing degrees for six to nine months. Once they get official accreditation, the nurses will be able to practice their profession and will earn the same salary as regular Spanish nurses. “Notwithstanding the present economic crisis in Spain, the demand for foreign nurses remains high. To date, there are about 190 Filipino nurses working in the Madrid area," the DFA said. It also said the Philippine Embassy is talking with prospective Spanish employers on the employment of more Filipinos in the health sector. The Embassy is also confident that other groups will follow the initial batch of Filipino nurses now deployed in Madrid and the Basque Country. - GMANews.TV

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