‘ I have what NZ needs’
Health worker Aeziel Niegos came to New Zealand in 2008 wanting to be a Kiwi. Now, she says changes to immigration rules will make that an “impossible dream”.
Health worker Aeziel Niegos came to New Zealand in 2008 with a dream of settling here and becoming a Kiwi.
But the 39-year-old, who earns $19.54 an hour as a house leader in an Albany healthcare facility, said changes to Immigration rules will make that an “impossible dream”.
“The skills that I offer is what New Zealand needs, what I do, I do it well, and help New Zealanders with multiple disabilities,” said Niegos, a qualified nurse from Ilcos Norte in the Philippines.
“I was planning to clear my last hurdle, the IELTS test, before I can lodge my application but now they have moved the goal posts.”
Niegos said her application to register as a nurse was declined by the Nursing Council in 2014 because she had been out of practice for five years.
“So I dedicated my life towards helping the aged and sick Kiwis, and I have really worked hard to get to my position as house leader,” she said. “It is my passion to help the old and the sick, and I believe there is so much I can give to New Zealand.” A significant number of workers in the healthcare sector here are from the Philippines. Starting pay for a registered nurse is $22.60 according to payscale.com, still below the required amount to qualify under the skilled migrant policy. Many Filipino caregivers working in rest homes, private hospitals and disabled care units, like Niegos, are not registered nurses and earn minimum wage or just slightly above. “I am still keeping faith . . . that common sense will prevail,” said Niegos, a Roman Catholic. “If all of us have to leave New Zealand, it could seriously cripple the health sector.”