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Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention. National policy concerning nursing services and nursing personnel. The Committee is mindful of the difficult situation that the country continues to face and appreciates the Government’s efforts to revise its labour legislation and reorganize public services and institutions. The Committee understands that in view of the protracted period of war and violence in recent years, the strengthening of the health-care sector and the improvement of the working conditions of health-care workers must be one of the key priorities of the ongoing national reconstruction. It also understands that principally, due to insecurity, there has been a mass exodus of medical staff. According to some reports, more than half of Iraq’s doctors, nurses and pharmacists have fled the country over the past four years – while many hospitals and medical teaching facilities have lost up to 80 per cent of their teaching staff. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide a comprehensive account of any action plans, programmes or initiatives undertaken with a view to formulating a general health policy which would also include targeted action for the amelioration of the quantity and quality of nursing care. The Committee would particularly appreciate if the Government would outline the existing parameters of the health-care system (in particular, legislative framework, institutions, human resources) and elaborate on any existing framework for consulting with employers’ and workers’ organizations on policy concerning nursing services and nursing personnel. The Committee would also appreciate receiving a copy of the Health Professionals Act No. 6 of 2000, to which reference is made in the Government’s report.
Article 3. Nursing education and training. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to specialized institutes responsible for the education and training of qualified health workers. It requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the basic requirements of nursing education (duration, levels of education, study curricula, continuing education and training, etc.).
Article 4. Practice of the nursing profession. The Committee requests the Government to provide full particulars, including copies of any relevant legislative or administrative texts, on the conditions under which persons may be authorized – through a system of certification or licensing – to practise the nursing profession.
Article 6. Employment and working conditions. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that as an incentive for promoting work in the field of health care, it has been decided to support health-care workers, including nursing staff, by granting an additional allowance amounting to 50 per cent of their salaries. The Committee requests the Government to transmit a copy of the abovementioned decision as well as additional information on any other incentives designed to compensate nursing personnel for the constraints and hazards inherent in the profession.
Part V of the report form. Application in practice. Recalling that the Government has last communicated general information on the practical application of the Convention in 1986, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would make an effort to collect and supply up to date information in this respect, including for instance, statistics on the number of registered and practising nurses, the nurse-to-population ratio, the number of nursing schools and the number of students attending and graduating every year, copies of official reports or studies addressing nursing-related issues, any practical difficulties encountered in applying the Convention, etc.
The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no reply to previous comments. It hopes that the next report will include full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which reads as follows:
Article 1(3) of the Convention. With reference to the previous request, the Committee notes that the Government has supplied a copy of Decision No. 944 of 13.8.1985. It notes that this Decision concerns miscellaneous conditions applicable to the persons (not only nurses) providing voluntary services to paralysed victims of the battle of Kadissiyat Saddam but does not stipulate education and training for nurses or specify the requirements for the practice of nursing. The Committee requests the Government (i) to indicate whether the nurses covered by this Decision are required to have received the same education and training as nurses in other sectors and whether they need to fulfil the same requirements as in other sectors for the practice of nursing; and (ii) to state whether voluntary nursing care is also provided in circumstances other than those covered by the above decision and, if so, to supply information on them.
Article 5. In reply to the questions concerning this Article, the Government repeats its indication to the effect that nurses in the socialist sector are guaranteed the rights by the laws on the public service and on retirement, and states that the appeal to the judiciary concerning practices prejudicial to their interest takes place after amicable measures are exhausted. The Committee points out that Article 5(1) of the Convention requires measures to promote the participation of nursing personnel in the planning of nursing services and consultation with such personnel in decisions concerning them. It requests the Government to indicate any measures taken to this end. Regarding Article 5(3) which calls for the settlement of disputes arising in connection with the determination of employment conditions either through negotiations or by such procedures as mediation, conciliation or voluntary arbitration, the Committee requests the Government to indicate any procedures established in this respect.
Part V of the report form. Noting the Government’s statement that the requested statistics concerning the number of nursing personnel are not available, the Committee asks the Government to supply with future reports such statistics when available.
The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:
Article 1(3) of the Convention. With reference to the previous request, the Committee notes that the Government has supplied a copy of Decision No. 944 of 13.8.1985. It notes that this Decision concerns miscellaneous conditions applicable to the persons (not only nurses) providing voluntary services to paralyzed victims of the battle of Kadissiyat Saddam but does not stipulate education and training for nurses or specify the requirements for the practice of nursing. The Committee requests the Government (i) to indicate whether the nurses covered by this Decision are required to have received the same education and training as nurses in other sectors and whether they need to fulfil the same requirements as in other sectors for the practice of nursing; and (ii) to state whether voluntary nursing care is also provided in circumstances other than those covered by the above decision and, if so, to supply information on them.
Part V of the report form. Noting the Government's statement that the requested statistics concerning the number of nursing personnel are not available, the Committee asks the Government to supply with future reports such statistics when available.
Point V of the report form. Noting the Government's statement that the requested statistics concerning the number of nursing personnel are not available, the Committee asks the Government to supply with future reports such statistics when available.
1. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, and the text of the Decisions and Instructions appended to the report. The Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of any new legislative or regulatory provisions that are adopted to improve the occupational health and safety of nursing personnel in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of the Convention.
2. As regards the other matters raised in its previous comments, the Committee would like to point out the following:
Article 1, paragraph 3, of the Convention. The Committee requested the Government (a) to indicate whether the persons providing voluntary nursing services to the victims of the battle of Kadissiyat Saddan who sustained paralysis must fulfil the same conditions as other workers in this sector, particularly with regard to occupational and technical training and the authorisation to provide such services, and (b) whether voluntary nursing care is also provided in circumstances other than those mentioned above and, if so, which provisions cover the personnel involved. In reply, the Government refers the Committee to Decision No. 569 of 26.5.1988 amending Decision No. 944 of 13 August 1985, which does not contain the information requested. The Committee hopes that this information will be provided with the next report.
Article 5. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the manner in which the representation of nursing personnel is ensured in the private and public sectors, the way in which the representative organisations of these workers participate in determining their conditions of employment and the procedures followed in the public sector for the settlement of disputes arising in connection with the determination of these conditions of employment. In reply, the Government indicates that, in the socialist sector, labour law and the legislation on retirement guarantee the rights of nursing personnel, and the latter may appeal to the courts of law if their interests are harmed. The Government adds that, as regards the private sector, the rights of nursing personnel are guaranteed by the competent union and the conditions of employment are also determined by the laws and regulations in force. The Committee notes this information and asks the Government to indicate (a) any measures that may have been taken, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Convention, to promote the participation of nursing personnel, in both the public and private sectors, in the planning of nursing services and consultation with such personnel in decisions concerning them, and (b) whether the disputes arising in connection with the determination of the terms and conditions of employment of nursing personnel can be settled not only by the appeal procedure referred to by the Government in its report, but also by negotiation between the parties or by procedures such as mediation, conciliation or voluntary arbitration, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 5 of the Convention.
Point V of the report form. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the practical application of the Convention, called for in the above report form, including statistics on the number of nursing personnel by sector of activity and by level of training and functions, and in relation to the population and the number of patients and of other health workers. The Committee also requested information, if available, on the number of persons leaving the profession. Since the Government has not supplied this information, the Committee can only raise the question again in the hope that it will be provided with the next report.