US health worker shortage: Filipino nurses say they are being exploited

The US has been battling a shortage of healthcare worker for years.
To fill the void, it's recruited a record number of nurses from the Philippines.
But labour and migrant rights activists say many are being exploited.

Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Lo reports from Manila, the Philippines.

Eleanor Nolasco is the president of Filipino Nurses United – an advocacy group supporting the rights and welfare of nurses.
She explains what the government needs to do to keep nurses from seeking jobs abroad and that poor working conditions and low wages in the Philippines are pushing nurses to move abroad.


#US #Philippines #USHealthcare #FilipinoNurses #USHealthWorkers #OFW #OverseasFilipinoWorkers #USImmigrants #FilipinoImmigrants #MigrantsRights #AlJazeeraEnglish

[tigassaing]

these Filipino nurses are exploited by the recruiters who are also Filipinos! Shame on them!

[vivejk]

what about the workers employed in middle easten countries who get their passports confiscated and not allowed to return home? why not report about that?

[necrobush]

I was a nurse in the UAE for 7 years and now a US citizen. The agency that got me here is one of the worst but I can say the workload and being mistreated is nowhere near in comparison in the US than what I’ve experienced in the middle east. Normal work hours in the UAE is 48hrs a week with no overtime pay, here you get overtime pay in excess of 40. Yes, the workload is a lot but a lot of support systems are in place and your voice here is being heard compared to when I was working in an Indian-Arab owned hospital in the UAE where working condition complaints will be held against you. I don’t know where Al Jazeera is getting all this but I belong to a community of filipino nurses who previously worked in the middle east and I’m 100% sure they’ll back my statement on this.

[gamhananalanka]

I'm Filipino Nurse too. Ariel is one of those lazy type who thought work in USA is easy. There is no discrimination here. It just depends on the supervisor. Ariel is even lucky with 1 is to 4. We have 1 is to 6 or 7. Of course everyone complain about work loads. But there is no singling out of Filipinos. We work 12 hour shifts 3 or 4 days a week and we make 120K a year. That is a compensation enough for the hard work. Before I got licensed I have done hard labor jobs in factories and make only 28K a year and today I asked in the same factory they make only 42 K a year. Ariel is just one of those diva semi rich guy in the Philippines who got shocked with the hardships of real work in USA where no one is treated like a royalty. I hate nurses like that. They just think about the money without thinking about the work. They should have chose an office job and make 50K a year. You want to make over 100K a year then work for it. As to the agency Ariel should have reported that anonymously to the labor department.

[PinayFuzzions]

It's not the US. that's your agency. Recruiters are at fault. What you signed on your contract should indicate what your load of work is.

[AnnaCruz-eyrp]

US is the not the problem the recruiter that is a fellow Filipino

[HypatiaMuse]

I work in the Eldercare sector, with Alzhiemers residents. Many of my coworkers have been Filipino, the most hard-working and compassionate people I've had the privlege of working beside. I've heard stories firsthand and in the media how they are exploited and subjected to wage theft and other labor law violations. The U.S. healthcare system is a nightmare, and these luxury Assisted Living facilities charge thousands a month, while the people providing the care services are often paid little more than fast food workers- sometimes less. It's even worse for professionals who come from overseas. I hope someday soon there will be major reforms to this system so corrupted by the profit motive. Both the care workers and the vulnerable people who rely on those services are at risk every day due to chronic understaffing, low pay & burnout from heavy workloads.

[Pougie]

@1:55 I am a citizen of the US, and have also encountered breach fees. The idea was that if the contract is two years and you leave 3 months early (for example) then you would have to pay the company for those 3 months of salary. So, if you got another job you would have to negotiate that your start date would be after the contract ended or if an emergency happened (say your parent had a stroke and needed a caregiver) you would have to pay for the time you left early. I turned it down. This is starting to happen to American citizens as well, as a way to stop turn over rates. But it could lead to abuse if circumstances for why you are leaving early are not taken into consideration.

[mateofernando]

When you are on a work visa, you are held hostage to the employer. Exploitation will and can happen. That is the nature of power imbalances.

[seandonahue]

My wife’s sister started out in UK as a nurse before becoming UK citizen. My wife also has two cousins in California and Texas, same thing. The Philippine company that recruits is the one demanding three years and a percentage of income for that time, cause they fund the move to the countries. I have no doubt that can be difficult.

[Fatma-mxcc]

In Reno, Nevada Veterans Administration Hospital, more than half the workers are Philippino. They are wonderful people and so kind. America is not the dreamland immigrants think it is, but many of them don’t know that until they get there.

[NurseMJ]

This happened before in the late 1990’s when the US needs nurses, these despicable Filipino recruiters take advantage of these hopeful nurses. The Phil gov’t should put a stop to these recruiters. There is no regulation at all. The US should also investigate the contracts of these recruiters or staffing agencies. I know for a fact that they pay these nurses half the running rate in the state they are hired in. This is unconscionable. 😢😩

[josephsaleh]

Philippine people are lovely it's about making them welcome under a fair working environment

[paquitoignacio]

The nurses are given more patients to look after beyond their ability to do it, so the standard of care is diminished.

[pinayinorway]

I hope those Filipino nurses who been exploited gets justice.. they dont deserve to be treated bad. They are important in the society they save peoples life.
Im am proud of my Filipino nurses kababayan they are one of the best in medical field. ❤

[maxdout]

This is comical coming from Qatar, a country that has had thousands of migrant workers die in terrible working conditions just in the last decade.

[jutube]

Nurses here in Philippines paid $200 a month and some considered as volunteers and they don’t receive any money from hospitals at all but all they need is experience so they can apply to work abroad

[leonidatria]

I’ve been a nurse here in USA since 1984 with wonderful experience and l can’t imagine that there’s issues like that here in USA.

[dikkygreggy]

So far wala namang ganyan ang na experience ko, salamat naman sa Diyos

[jamesfung]

Filipino nurses can make 6-10 times more of their salary than in Philippine, they do not feel exploited.