Wissanu urges 10,000 state jobs for nurses

Solution to dispute beckons, he says

The government has moved to settle the dispute with state sector nurses by recommending that a total of 10,000 vacant civil servant positions under the Public Health Ministry be allotted to nurses working under temporary contracts.

The suggestion by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam came after more than 10,000 nurses working for public hospitals and state health units nationwide threatened to leave their posts if they are not granted permanent civil servant status.

The nurses said they would stop working at the end of September, when the 2017 fiscal year is over, in protest against the cabinet decision on May 9 which disapproved the listing of 10,992 contract nurses as civil servants over a three-year period.

Contract nurses are hired by state hospitals. They are not entitled to the benefits and welfare that civil servants receive.

Mr Wissanu said the ministry, the Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC), the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC) and other state agencies will meet him today to discuss a solution to the issue. He said he was confident the row would eventually be solved.

He said while the ministry currently has more than 10,000 vacant positions, these do not only cover nurses but other medical personnel as well.

Mr Wissanu said the cabinet earlier rejected a ministry proposal to increase the number of new positions by more than 10,000 for nurses only, as it is something no other ministry has ever done and it also breaches certain principles. However, he said he thought cabinet should reconsider.

“We think the Public Health Ministry’s 10,000 existing vacant positions should be given to nurses,” said Mr Wissanu. He added the ministry can later seek quotas for other personnel from the cabinet.

“Such an approach will not require any special orders,” Mr Wissanu said. “The OCSC’s existing regulation can be undertaken in line with this move.”

Deputy health permanent secretary Somsak Akksilp said that as a short-term solution, 1,200 civil servant positions will be given to nurses in two months.

Another 416 positions will be granted to them by September as some positions will become vacant once personnel are promoted to higher ranks.

Dr Somsak said another 112 positions would also be available from personnel who quit, and those can quickly be allotted to the nurses.

He said 893 officials have been transferred and it is under consideration whether nurses can fill those spots, while another 758 positions will be vacant in September from retirees. The ministry will hold talks with the network of contract nurses via teleconference on Wednesday to clarify the issues.

Former Democrat MP for Samut Songkhram Rangsima Rodrasamee, who is a former nurse, called on the ministry to allot more civil servant positions to the nurses.

The ministry and the OCSC should work together to address the issue, while nurses who fail to receive civil servant positions should get alleviation measures, she said. “If they are not granted civil servant status, there could be brain drain [with nurses] moving to private hospitals,” Ms Rangsima said.

“The government should work out a clear plan to ensure they are able to guarantee those in the nursing profession civil servant status.”

The government should take into consideration the benefits nurses should be given, he added.