Cyprus Parliament to consider rules for hiring nurses from third countries — Cyprus Mail

Cyprus’ parliament is to consider two government bills aimed at partially addressing the shortage of nurses in private hospitals. Amendments to the law on nursing and midwifery provide for the controlled hiring of nurses from third countries, Cyprus Mail reports.

Employment conditions

The bills propose limiting the share of foreign nurses at each medical institution to 10%. Candidates will also be required to have a moderate level of Greek, while their access to managerial positions will be restricted. Michalis Grigoriou, a representative of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation, said the private healthcare sector lacks about 650 nurses.

Grigoriou acknowledged that learning Greek to the required level may be difficult, but said that new employees would be assisted by colleagues and that this would not pose a threat to patient safety. He also questioned the current staffing standards, under which Cyprus provides for one nurse per five patients.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Dispute between hospitals and the union

Savas Iakovou, general secretary of the Pasyno public nurses’ union, disputed private hospitals’ estimates of the scale of the shortage, calling them unfounded. He noted that 1,500 nurses left the profession during 2016–2026 and called for addressing the causes of staff outflow first.

Iakovou also said that 15 nurses at one private hospital are allegedly facing dismissal in order to replace them with workers from third countries. According to him, the absence of a minimum wage for nurses may allow employers to hire foreign workers for lower pay. The union called on the Ministry of Health to investigate reports of bed closures in private hospitals.

Mario Karaiskakis, president of the Cyprus Private Hospitals Association, previously said that more than 50 beds, including in intensive care units, had already been taken out of service due to staff shortages in the private sector, and some major operations had to be postponed. The Employers Federation criticized the union’s claims and acknowledged that the government proposals would not eliminate the shortage completely but could alleviate it.