Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Egypt (Ratification: 1982)

The Committee notes the Government’s report.

Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Central Authority for Administration and Management is considering the possibility of increasing by 30 per cent the bonuses to nursing graduates with a view to stemming the flow of nursing personnel leaving the public sector. While recalling that similar information was communicated by the Government in its previous reports, the Committee understands that, in the absence of any concrete measures to reverse the tendency, the phenomenon of nursing personnel leaving the public sector or the nursing profession altogether persists. It therefore requests the Government to provide detailed information, including all available statistics, on the current situation in both public and private medical institutions in so far as nursing staff is concerned, the number of licensed nurses recruited every year, their basic salary levels and range of allowances. The Committee would also appreciate receiving the Government’s views as to whether the pay conditions in the nursing sector adequately reflect the socio-economic needs, special responsibilities and inherent risks of the nursing profession and are likely to attract persons to the profession and retain them in it.

In addition, the Committee notes that the project for the re-evaluation and classification of nursing jobs, which is being developed by the Ministry of Health’s Nursing Department in collaboration with the trade union of nursing personnel, and to which the Government has been referring for the past ten years, is still under preparation. The Committee requests the Government to specify whether the project is still actively pursued, and if so, to indicate a possible timetable for its finalization. The Committee takes also this opportunity to ask the Government for up-to-date information on current policy and programmes on nursing education and training. The Committee understands that 94 per cent of practising nurses are diploma nurses, i.e. graduates of secondary nursing schools, and only 6 per cent are college or technical institute graduates, which may pose a problem of efficiency and quality of nursing care. In this connection, the Committee hopes that the Government will supply in its next report full particulars on the measures taken or envisaged to upgrade the standards of education and training of nursing personnel, as required under this Article of the Convention.

Article 5, paragraph 2. In some earlier comments, the Committee had raised the question of the participation of the trade union of nursing personnel in collective negotiations for the determination of conditions of employment and work in health-care establishments of the private sector. In the absence of clear reply, the Committee is bound to request once again the Government to provide full and documented information on the level, content and outcome of any such negotiations in which the nurses’ trade union has participated in recent years.

Article 5, paragraph 3. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to the new Labour Code No. 12 of 2003 as covering the settlement of labour disputes in both the public and the private sectors. The Committee observes, however, that under section 4 of the new Labour Code, public servants of state agencies, including local government units and public authorities, are excluded from its scope of application. It is therefore obliged to renew its request for clarification on the legal provisions or regulations governing the settlement of conflicts arising in connection with the terms and conditions of employment of nursing personnel in the public sector. The Committee would also appreciate receiving copies of any relevant texts.

Article 7. The Committee notes the provisions of the new Labour Code No. 12 of 2003 on occupational safety and health and labour environment security. It notes, in particular, that section 210 requires protective measures when the nature of work involves infection risks for the workers while section 213 provides for a ministerial decree laying down the conditions for preventing such risks. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate whether an executive decree has already been issued in this respect. It would also thank the Government for continuing to provide information on any measures taken or planned seeking to improve the occupational health and safety standards applicable to health-care workers, including any specific initiative undertaken with respect to protection of nursing personnel from HIV infection.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that according to news reports, Egypt experiences a severe shortage of qualified nurses with nursing staff totalling 140,000 persons which represents a ratio of approximately 20 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants. The Committee would be grateful to the Government for supplying additional information on any concrete efforts to address the problem of shortage of nurses, especially by instituting incentive measures to retain qualified professionals in the health sector. Moreover, the Committee would wish to receive all available information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, the number of students attending nursing schools, copies of official reports or research studies examining the problems and prospects of the nursing profession, etc.