Minister for Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs K.C. Joseph has asked the Centre to keep in abeyance the new norms framed for overseas recruitment of nurses till they were approved by the 18 Emigration Check Required (ECR) nations.
Mr. Joseph told reporters here on Monday that the Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs had mandated Protectorate of Emigrants clearance from April 30 for Indian nurses seeking employment in the 18 ECR nations.
The recruitment has been restricted through NoRKA-Roots, Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Council (ODEPC), and Tamil Nadu Manpower Corporation.
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Once the rule came into force, nurses from the State who had got job visas prior to April 30, through other agencies, would be unable to migrate and could lose the job. Only Kuwait had accepted the norm that a foreign employer who sought to recruit Indian nurses should register with the Indian Mission in their country and avail themselves of the services of the approved government agencies. This uncertainty had affected the employment prospects of nurses from the State.
Hence, the Centre should give clearance to those who had secured appointment through other agencies and keep in abeyance implementation of the new norms till the 17 countries approved it. Representatives of Kuwait would reach the State to discuss the recruitment modalities within a fortnight, he said.
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Mr. Joseph said he had taken up the issue with Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and was expecting a positive response.