Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1980)

Articles 2 and 3(1) of the Convention. National policy for nursing services and nursing personnel. Education and training. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide copies of any texts implementing Act No. 18.815, in particular regulations setting out the requirements regarding nursing education and training or the requirements for the practice of nursing. It also requested the Government to provide statistical information on trends in the remuneration levels of nursing personnel in recent years and the measures adopted to address the shortage of healthcare personnel in the country. The Committee notes that the Government reports the adoption of Decree No. 370/014, of 16 December 2014, governing the establishment and operation of private nursing schools. The Decree establishes, among other supervisory mechanisms for private nursing schools, the requirement for such schools, prior to initiating operations, to obtain authorization from the Ministry of Education and Culture, which shall be granted following a general evaluation by the Ministry of the school’s operation and the quality of the training provided. The Decree also grants the Ministry the power to conduct official investigations, including technical inspections, with the aim of supervising compliance with the prerequisites for such authorization. The Government indicates that the conditions of work of nursing personnel may be established through collective bargaining, in addition to laws and regulations. In this respect, the Government reports that Group 15 of the Wage Board for “Health-care and Related Services” has been engaged in tripartite negotiations since 2005 and is currently initiating a new round of negotiations with a view to fixing minimum wages and conditions of work for a period of at least two years. However, the Committee notes that the Government has not provided information in its report on trends in the levels of remuneration of nursing personnel or on specific measures, programmes or initiatives designed to address the shortage of healthcare personnel in the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the outcome of the negotiations of Group 15 of the Wage Board on “Health-care and Related Services” in relation to the minimum wages of nursing personnel. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the measures adopted or envisaged to provide nursing personnel with education and training appropriate to the exercise of their functions; and employment and working conditions, including career prospects and remuneration, which are likely to attract persons to the profession and retain them in it (Article 2(2)). It also requests the Government to provide information on the consultations held with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned in relation to these measures (Article 2(3)). The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide statistical information on trends in the remuneration levels of nursing personnel in recent years. Lastly, it also reiterates its request to the Government to supply information on the specific measures, programmes or initiatives designed to address the shortage of healthcare personnel in the country.

Article 5. Participation of nursing personnel in the planning of nursing services. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the role and practical contribution of the occupational organizations representing nursing personnel in the formulation and implementation of policies concerning the nursing profession and the determination of terms and conditions of employment for nursing personnel. The Committee notes the Government’s general indication in its report of the existence of representative employers’ and workers’ organizations for nursing personnel. The Committee therefore reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the role and practical contribution of the professional organizations representing nursing personnel in the formulation and implementation of policies concerning the nursing profession and the determination of terms and conditions of employment for nursing personnel.

Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including statistical data on the number of nursing staff disaggregated by sex, area of activity, level of training and functions, statistics on the ratio of nursing personnel to the population, the number of persons who enrol in nursing school and the number of persons who leave the profession each year, copies of official reports or studies on nursing services, and information on any practical difficulties experienced in the application of the Convention, such as the lack of or migration of nursing personnel.