Filipino Nurses Support Group
Media Release

Demonstrators celebrate International Nurses Day on the streets

For immediate release: May 12, 2005

Today, the Filipino Nurses Support Group were joined by the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada, Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance, BC Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Philippine Women Centre of BC, SIKLAB (Overseas Filipino Workers Advancing their Rights and Welfare Abroad), Grassroots Women, No One Is Illegal, Workers Communist Party of Iran, Hospital Employees Union, members of the Vietnamese community, and other supporters to celebrate Nurses Week and International Nurses Day and to stand in solidarity with the struggle of international-trained migrant and immigrant nurses.

In the midst of a dire nursing shortage in Canada, thousands of international-trained migrant and immigrant nurses, primarily from the Philippines, are working not as nurses, but instead as low-paid domestic workers, 24-hour home support workers, care-aids, factory workers, and other service-sector workers. A significant number of Philippine-trained nurses come to Canada under the Canadian government's Live-in Caregiver Program severely exploited for their high skills and education.

"Reciprocity for Filipino nurses and other foreign-trained nurses now!", "Scrap the Live-in Caregiver Program!", "No to the Privatization of Healthcare!", "Health for All!" demanded the groups. The rally speakers were united in exposing and opposing the neo-liberal agenda of privatizing health care, exploiting and oppressing workers, pitting workers against each other, and deteriorating health care delivery.

Everyday, the health care system cannot guarantee the safety and delivery of quality care to the people of British Columbia. In the current health care crisis, everyday health care workers are dissatisfied and demoralized in their workplaces. Yet, Filipino and other foreign-trained nurses are not recognized and utilized to their fullest potential.

The Filipino Nurses Support Group celebrates Nurses Week and International Nurses Day not only today, but everyday the Filipino Nurses Support Group resolutely continues to celebrate through struggle and resistance, to celebrate the commitment of fighting against exploitation and oppression.

For more information contact fnsg@kalayaancentre.net or visit www.kalayaancentre.net.

Vietnamese students expresses her community's solidarity with Filipino nurses


Solidarity from the Iranian community in Canada