Headlines
Kerala government agencies to hire nurses for overseas jobs
Thiruvananthapuram, March 18
Two Kerala
government agencies will have full rights to take up the recruitment of
nurses to overseas countries from April 30, a minister announced on
Wednesday.
Diaspora Minister K.C. Joseph told IANS that an order
from the union overseas Indian affairs ministry has come and from April
30 the state-owned Overseas Development and Employment Promotion
Consultants (ODEPC) and Roots-Norka (the agency that looks after the
welfare of the Kerala diaspora) will be doing this.
"This is a
decision that's going to bring a lot of cheer and one that was a long
standing demand from several quarters. We are thankful to the centre for
taking this decision. Lots of nurses hailing from poor backgrounds have
been cheated by private agencies and with this decision, none would be
cheated."
Roots-Norka comes under Joseph's ministry while the ODEPC comes under the labour ministry.
Labour Minister Shibhu Baby John said his department would only be glad to take up this work.
"Through
this new arrangement, nurses can freely undergo the interview without
fear of being cheated by anyone. This sector for long was one where
there were numerous fly by night operators. From April 30 onwards, it
will all come to an end," John said in a statement.
The Kerala
government for long has been demanding to the centre that the state
government should be given exclusive rights for nurses recruitment as
last year about 500 nurses recruited by private agencies was left high
and dry in Kuwait after they paid hefty agency fees and the state
government had a tough time to handle it.
Today the recruitment
fees to Kuwait for a nurse is in the range of Rs.1.5 to Rs.2 million and
with the state agencies now getting complete rights for recruitment,
they will be doing it at minimal fees to cover expenses incurred by
these two agencies.