Federal Minister of Health Honorable Eugene Hamilton told a Freedom Fm Issues audience on Thursday that the question of recruiting Philipino nurses did not start with the Team Unity Government and that their recruitment was to fill specialized needs at the JNF Hospital.
The minister went on to address the issue of the perceived disparity in compensation between local nurses and foreign workers.
With reference to the housing allowance provided to foreign nurses, Hamilton said the Government had a responsibility of providing housing until accommodation could be found by these workers.
The Health Minister said the Government was prudent in its conduct of providing a housing stipend in accordance with the rules set out in 2014 by the previous administration as nowhere in the industry could you find a $500 monthly fee for renting of an apartment.
Freedom Fm had called Mr Hamilton last week to get his response to the plight of local nurses who complained of being overworked and underpaid, not being compensated for their nursing degrees and getting paid at a lower scale than foreign nurses.
In recent days, the Opposition St. Kitts- Nevis Labour Party has called on the Junior Health Minister Wendy Phipps and Federal Health Minister Eugene Hamilton to address the urgent concerns of the nurses.
When asked by host Maurice EK Flanders if there were mechanisms in place to compensate all nurses who had completed bachelor’s degrees, Hamilton said the problem stemmed from the fact that with the nurses it was not only the degree that was taken into account but also the acquisition of certain specialised skills.