Social Democrats co-leader R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall TD has called on the Government to end the exploitation of student nurses and midwives who have been expected to fill gaps in our chronically under-funded health service during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Speaking in support of a motion on the issue from Solidarity-People Before Profit today, Deputy Shortall said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should bring shame upon the minister and the Government that our student nurses and midwives are being exploited for cheap labour under the current clinical placement scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cNursing and midwifery students have done extraordinary work well above and beyond their remit during the pandemic. The essential role they are filling deserves to be recognised with fair pay this year, next year and every year to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cChronic understaffing in our health service has made this the reality for some time now, but it has been intensified this year. Over 16% of Covid-19 cases have been among healthcare workers. The nature of their work has placed them at increased risk and has led to higher than normal absences from clinical settings \u2013 with students expected to fill these gaps.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been a glaring issue for many years now, but the severe additional pressure placed on student nurses and midwives during the pandemic has brought it even more to the fore and has rightly led to a full public outcry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact of the matter is that essential work is expected of students in clinical placements, for which they are not duly compensated. The issue boils down to cheap, exploited labour filling essential work.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudent nurses and midwives work on average 15 weeks per year for the first three years of their degree. The students who are lucky enough to receive a clinical placement allowance get a meagre \u20ac50.79 per week, while others receive nothing in compensation.<\/p>\n
“Even the \u20ac50 per week is nowhere near enough to cover the costs of transport to attend a placement, let alone tuition fees, accommodation or living expenses. In their final year, these students will complete 36-week internships as rostered staff members and will be paid \u20ac15,056 \u2013 well below minimum wage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister for Health has defended the status quo, justifying students\u2019 lack of pay because it is part of their education. However, it is clear from students\u2019 first-hand experiences that this is not a purely academic exercise and they are filling critical roles in our health service.<\/p>\n
\u201cI urge the minister to engage with student nurses and midwives and correct this longstanding inequality.\u201d<\/p>\n
December 2, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Social Democrats co-leader R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall TD has called on the Government to end the exploitation of student nurses and midwives who have been expected to fill gaps in our chronically under-funded health service during the pandemic. Speaking in support of a motion on the issue from Solidarity-People Before Profit today, Deputy Shortall said: \u201cIt should […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,264],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","category-roisin-shortall"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n