Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2001, publiée 90ème session CIT (2002)

Convention (n° 149) sur le personnel infirmier, 1977 - Uruguay (Ratification: 1980)

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government concerning the training policy for nursing personnel as well as the measures adopted in relation to the employment and working conditions of the above personnel. In this respect, the Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government, the remuneration of nursing personnel differs widely depending on whether it is a question of the public or the private sector. In the latter sector, nursing personnel have benefited from the introduction of wage incentives, through collective agreements, between 1987 and 1992. As from this latter date, collective agreements were confined to establishing percentages of wage increases. However, the Committee notes with concern that in the public sector the income of nursing personnel has been affected by the measures taken to reduce costs. The Committee therefore asks the Government to take all the necessary measures to ensure that the wages of nursing personnel are respected and adjusted to maintain their purchasing power with a view to attracting persons to the profession and retaining them in it.

Article 3, paragraph 2. The Committee notes the Government’s statement to the effect that nursing education and training are not coordinated with the education provided to other workers in the field of health. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the importance of such coordination and hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure such coordination, as envisaged in this provision of the Convention.

Article 5. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee recalls that it asked the Government to indicate which decisions had been adopted by the Technical Nursing Committee which may affect the working conditions of nursing personnel. While noting the composition of the above committee, it also registers the establishment of the advisory commission for the planning of nursing services. The Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government, the procedures by which the conditions of employment and work of nursing personnel are determined are, in the public sector, the five-year budgets and, in the private sector, collective agreements. The Government adds that the participation of nursing personnel in the planning of nursing services depends on the policies of both the public and private institutions concerned. It indicates that machinery has been established in certain institutions for active participation in the planning of their services but that, when decisions are taken at the higher level of the organization of the institution on the planning of health services, of which one of the components is nursing services, participation is rare or non-existent. The Committee recalls that, in accordance with this provision of the Convention, measures shall be taken to promote the participation of nursing personnel in the planning of nursing services and consultation with such personnel on decisions concerning them. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to promote the participation and consultation of nursing personnel in accordance with this provision of the Convention and to provide the relevant information concerning the measures adopted.

Article 7. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that since 1997 the Ministry of Public Health, through its national AIDS programme, has been revising the existing bio-security standards for the prevention of accidents through exposure to blood and body fluids. The Committee urges the Government to continue providing information on this subject and, in particular, on the results of the application of the measures relating to nursing personnel proposed under the above national programme. It also requests the Government to indicate the measures which have been adopted, for example, with respect to the working conditions of nursing personnel in relation to the risks of accidental infection, the confidentiality of test results, recognition of the occupational nature of diseases caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) contracted during the course of work, etc.