KOCHI: While the Saudi Arabia government’s move to increase the proportion of its citizens in nursing jobs to 44% has raised concerns among the Malayali nurses’ fraternity, experts point out that the policy will not have an immediate effect on their job prospects. For nurses are in high demand in the post Covid world, they say.
“Saudi has been bringing changes to its policies for around 20 years now. But Malayali nurses have found opportunities in other countries as well. Also, they don’t have to worry as it may take some time for the policy to be implemented,” says Irudaya Rajan, chairperson of the International Institute of Migration Development, who has been closely watching the migration trends in India.
The labour policy, known as Saudisation, is being implemented from 2016, beginning with a 38% reservation in nursing jobs. The move is disturbing for the emigrant community as the Gulf nation accounts for the biggest share of Malayali nurses in the world, at 21.5 %.“Since its start, Saudisation has been affecting a few sections of nurses every year. While the government has a system to regulate and maintain the numbers, Saudi is currently facing a severe shortage of nurses. So, the new policy won’t have much of an impact,” says Saleem, a Malayali nurse working in Saudi Arabia.
Through its policies, Saudi is aiming to become self-sufficient in the healthcare sector. According to Renjith Scaria, the Karnataka unit president of the Indian Nurses Association, the norms may affect new applicants as the recruitment to European countries has remained suspended for the past few months. “Nurses have again started looking for jobs in Arab countries. Though the new policy may reduce job opportunities for new applicants, it doesn’t affect the nurses currently working in Saudi,” Renjith says. The policy changes have however seen nurses’ benefits being cut and salary negotiated, he adds.
In the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, massive opportunities have opened up in the healthcare sector across the globe. “The migration trend is changing. Many nurses follow step migration, going to the Gulf countries to make the move to Western countries easier,” Rajan points out.
Concurring with Rajan, Saleem says that Saudi is just a transit for many nurses moving to European countries. “The policy won’t be a major concern for Keralites. Recruitment will continue as the nurse turnover rate has been very high post Covid,” he says.
However, Rajan stresses the significance of keeping education standards high. “We need to update the syllabus regularly and provide quality training. Nurses are in demand everywhere,” he says.