Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday met Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with a plea to ease restrictions imposed on overseas recruitment of nurses.

He also took up the issue of nurses employed in the UK, who are at the risk of losing their job following some amendments effected to immigration rules there.

The Centre’s new norm stipulates that nurses need to obtain emigration clearance from the Protector of Emigrants for employment in 18 Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries. Also, recruitment has been entrusted exclusively with three government agencies from April 30. But only Kuwait has taken steps to recruit nurses from India as per the revised norms. This led to inordinate delay in recruitment and loss of overseas job opportunities to nurses. Unless the new norms are implemented in a uniform manner across all the countries, nurses would remain affected.

After meeting Sushma, Chandy said the Minister has assured to take up the issue with the authorities concerned in 18 ECR countries.

Chandy also clarified that all job contracts entered upon till March 15 this year would be honoured in conformity with the court orders.

He said Sushma assured that the Centre would ask Indian missions to initiate discussions with the respective ECR country on implementation of new norms.

Chandy also urged Sushma to take up with the UK authorities the issue of how amended immigration rules would hit Kerala nurses seeking jobs in that country. As per the new rule, migrant workers earning less than 35,000 pounds per annum would have to leave Britain in 2017.

At present, the number of nurses in the UK from India is estimated to be 17,000, of which 70 to 75 per cent are from Kerala, said Oommen Chandy.

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