MikeLigalig.com

Filipino care workers and their employers will fight the Home Office over work permit refusals which threaten to deport experienced nursing staff.

A group of South West care home representatives and staff will make co-ordinated demands to help Filipinos stay in the country. The group may take legal action over permit rulings, which would also help Filipinos stay in the short-term.

Senior care workers from the Philippines - brought to Britain to plug healthcare staffing gaps - face being sent home to poverty just years later after new government skills criteria were announced.

A backlash from politicians, care homes and the public over human rights issues and concern a Filipino exodus would drive down care standards has forced the government into a re-think.

The Home Office has stated it will reconsider refused permit applications, but some campaigners feel it is not enough. A further blow for now-settled staff is a ruling overseas senior carers must be paid a minimum £7.02 per hour.

source: exmouthjournal.co.uk