National Nursing Associations Call for Better Working Conditions, Higher Salaries, Government Investment and Recognition of Value

The need to invest in nursing, raise the nursing voice and improve working conditions were key themes of the biennial meeting of ICN’s national nursing association members (NNAs) which brought together over 100 representatives from 52 different countries to discuss country level issues, policy initiatives and implementation and to share experiences and good practice. The meeting included an update on the ICN strategic plan, current policy priorities and workstreams; the current WHO workforce agenda; and the Nursing Now campaign. Key themes included the working environment and decent work; pay, reward and retention; NNA advocacy and campaigning roles; and engaging younger people.

Howard Catton, ICN’s Director of Nursing and Health Policy, presented an analysis of pay data collected from ICN’s International and Asian Workforce Forums between 2006-2016. The findings show that many nurses around the world have experienced a real terms’ fall in their purchasing power over the past 10 years. In Asia, there is also evidence of stagnation and a decline in pay in the last two years. (See ICN press release)

Professor James Buchan Adjunct Professor, University of Technology, Sydney, spoke about nurse retention; Ms. Christiane Wiskow, Health Services Specialist, International Labour Organization gave a briefing on the role of the International Labour Organisation and the Nursing Personnel Convention; and Dr. Ivan D. Ivanov from the WHO Department of Public Health spoke about Occupational Health and Safety for Health Workers.

Lord Nigel Crisp briefed participants on the Nursing Now campaign, and a film, Marianne and Margareth, was shown about two Austrian nurses who have been recommended for the Nobel Peace Prize for their work, during 40 years, in a sanatorium in Korea for Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patients.

Participants were also briefed by Christian Strømnes, ICN Student Intern and President of the Norwegian Student Nurses Association, on how ICN is working to raise the profile of student and novice nurses.

On the same day, 17 May, 32 participants from 21 countries attended ICN’s Regulation and Credentialing Forum, co-hosted by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM).

Key topics included Leveraging the role of education in regulation to deliver better health, by Sally Pairman, ICM Chief Executive; Invisibility of midwifery within regulation by Mary Kirk, ICN Vice President; and a discussion on The public vs. the profession: Who are we really protecting? by Carolyn Reed from the Nursing Council of New Zealand and Barbara Mangiacavalli from the National Opi Nursing Board in Italy. The second session of the day explored the different models of regulation and the role of research from a regulator view and included perspectives from Tanya Vogt from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency; Lynn Power from the Canadian National Nursing Assessment Service; and Dr. David Benton, CEO of NCSBN.

The final session of the Forum looked at the important topic of Migration of nurses and midwives in an increasingly interwined world: The case for internationalisation of regulation and included presentations by Franklin A. Shaffer, President and Chief Executive Officer of CGFNS International, Inc; Tassana Boontong from Mahodol University in Thailand, and Dr. Lynette Cusack, Associate Professor of Nursing from the University of Adelaide, Australia.

More information on these meetings can be found on: http://www.icn.ch/events/icn-meetingsa-events/