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Nursing students and midwives are being exploited without pay during the Covid-19 crisis, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization (INMO) said today.
The organization said trainees at hospitals in Ireland are “effectively asked to work as unpaid staff” while facing the risks of Covid-19.
According to INMO, at the beginning of the pandemic in March an HSE scheme was used to pay students the salaries of health assistants, but it is no longer operational.
The INMO said that it met today with officials from the Department of Health, but that “there was no progress” on the issue.
They do not have the protections provided to employees. While most third-level students are encouraged to stay off campus and study online, nursing and midwifery students must attend highly dangerous workplaces to meet their learning goals.
“Our students take it for granted. They face huge workloads and are at risk of Covid infection. And while they do indispensable work, they do not receive any financial recognition for their efforts, ”said INMO Secretary General Phil Ní Sheaghdha.
“They don’t have the protections that are provided to employees. While most third-level students are encouraged to stay off campus and study online, nursing and midwifery students must attend very dangerous workplaces to meet their learning goals. “
Pay
“It is time to respect their contribution and pay them. The message is simple: stop exploiting nursing students and midwives, ”said Ms Ní Sheaghdha.
INMO calls for the immediate reintroduction of the nursing student fee provided in March and for the student allowances to be substantially increased.
According to the group, before the last year’s internship, most nursing students and midwives do not receive any compensation or receive an allowance of € 50.79 per week.
The organization said that many students have also faced income losses because they are no longer able to work part-time as care aides while studying, due to the risk of infection from working in a nursing home while also in a hospital.
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