India’s Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan has assured Indian nurses in the United Arab Emirates that qualification issue pertaining to their job will be taken up with the authorities.
Hundreds of Indian nurses who potentially fear job loss due to change in the qualification condition in UAE met Mr Muraleedharan yesterday with their grievances. The Minister assured them that the issue of equivalency of their certificates and other related issues pertaining to their job condition will be taken up by the Indian Government with the UAE authorities.
Addressing a community event in Sharjah, the Minister said that the documents from the Indian Nursing Council have been submitted to the UAE government and due consideration will be given to the documents. He also expressed hope that there will be a positive outcome to this issue and a solution will be found in a very short span of time.
After the UAE made a bachelor’s degree the minimum qualification for registered nurses last year, over 200 diploma holders had alleged job loss, while several others are facing demotion to the position of a practical nurse, irrespective of their years of experience.
The Minister also asked all gathered nurses to approach and register their issues with Education Consul at the Indian Consulate in Dubai. He also assured the nurses that during his next visit, he would meet the UAE Minister of Health and Minister of Education to resolve their problems. Mr Muraleedharan is on a two- day visit to UAE to attend the ministerial-level meeting of the 5th Abu Dhabi Dialogue.
Before returning to India tonight, the Minister is scheduled to participate in another community event in Abu Dhabi.
