2 Pinay nurses employed in Germany under new labor pact

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipino nurses have been employed in Germany under the Philippine-German labor agreement signed last March.

Christine Baluis and Ernestine Vivien Chiu are the first to be working in Germany under the agreement between the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Zentrale Auslands-und Fachvermittlung (ZAV), the government office in Bonn supervising the deployment of foreign workers to Germany.

Baluis and Chiu have been employed as health care professionals since July 22 at the Senioren-Residenz Haus Veronika in Reinsfeld, near the historic city of Trier in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Senioren-Residenz Haus Veronika was founded in 1985 as a private home for the elderly. It is a member of the German Federation of Private Social Service Providers, BPA.

Baluis, who hails from Ilocos Norte, has been in Germany on a student visa to study the German language.

Chiu, on the other hand, comes from Iligan City and first came to Germany on an au pair visa. She extended her stay on a student visa also to study the German language.

They met each other in the German language school.

“Both of us share a single housing unit, which is good for us as we adjust to our new jobs,” Chiu said.

Esther Mergens-Wahlen, director of Senioren-Residenz Haus Veronika, called up the Philippine embassy to express her gratitude for its support for the application papers of Baluis and Chiu that needed the approval of the ZAV.

BPA president Bernd Meurer welcomed the two Filipino nurses.

He also said that “the BPA fully supports its member facilities with regard to the recruitment of foreign skilled personnel since there is currently a huge shortage of 50,000 skilled workers.”

“Germany is expected to face an even more severe shortage of nurses in the near future,” he added.

Qualified Filipino health care professionals who also wish to be employed in Germany under the bilateral labor agreement must apply with the POEA. If qualified, they are required to undertake a six-month German language course in the Philippines before deployment to Germany.