Neophyte party-list ANG NARS files measures to amend Nursing Law and uphold security of tenure of workers at the opening of Congress

ANG NARS party-list was among the early birds to file bills at the opening of the 16th Congress on Monday (July 1, 2013).

The neophyte party-list group filed its first five bills which include measures to amend the Nursing Law and grant security of tenure to long-time non-regular employees in the public sector.

It has been a practice of staff members of legislators to start lining up ahead of the opening in a race to file the first bills in Congress. Staff and supporters of ANG NARS held shifts to secure its spot in the long queue that started to build a few days ago.

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Despite being new in the political arena having only won its first seat in the recent elections, ANG NARS vows to be the vanguard of quality health services and decent work in the lower house.

“We may be newcomers in Congress but that doesn’t mean we don’t mean business,” said ANG NARS Partylist representative Leah Paquiz.

“We want to assure our supporters that we will make every day of our stay in Congress count. We will be the voice of our nurses and all other workers in the lower house,” she added.

Annie Enriquez-Geron, General Secretary of the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), a national confederation of government employees representing more than 80,000 workers, expressed confidence that ANG NARS will live up to its promise.

“We are happy that finally we now have a party-list that is committed to advancing quality public services and job security in our Congress,” said Enriquez-Geron.

“In fact, right after their proclamation, ANG NARS immediately went to work and consulted various groups including PSLINK on what bills to push. With ANG NARS in Congress, we certainly have a champion of workers’ rights.”

Other bills filed by ANG NARS with the Bills and Index Division of the House of Representatives include Whistleblower Protection, Civil Service Code and Freedom of Information.

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PSLINK at ANG NARS Assembly

PSLINK served as resource speaker during the General Assembly of ANG NARS in Merced, Quezon City last June 9, 2012.

The assembly was held alongside the second part of the Nursing and Legal Education: Part 2 with Program Accreditation No. 2009-021-128 by the Board of Nursing (accredited as 2.66 CPE Units). See symposium flyer below.

Annie Enriquez- Geron, General Secretary, PSLINK talked about Precarious Work in the Health Sector while Jillian Roque, Advocacy Head of PSLINK, discussed Ethical Recruitment and the WHO Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Professionals.

Check out photos of the activity in the slideshow below.

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