Head of the Unity Workers’ Union (UWU), Caswell Franklyn, is warning Government that each day it fails to address the ongoing strike by nurses is an increase in the risk of losing a significant portion of Barbados’ health sector human resources to overseas recruiters.
Franklyn, who has led a more than two-month-long strike of close to 200 nurses, said United States recruiters have asked him to be the point person for the hiring of 600 nurses from Barbados to work in that jurisdiction.
“There is an agency outside of Barbados that has contacted me to help them to recruit nurses. I don’t understand why they chose to call me, but they did. So, while we are not utilising our nurses and treating them with such scant respect, international agencies want them because they know that Barbadian nurses have a reputation for hard work.
“This agency has told me that they want 600 nurses. The reality is that we do not have 600 nurses to spare. As a matter of fact, we do not have any to spare, yet we are running the risk of losing them to institutions overseas. This is a reputable agency, one that has recruited nurses from here before,” said Franklyn. (CLM)
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