Union denounces failures in 23 recruitment contests of nurses

A Associação Syndical Portuguesa dos Enfermeiros denounced the Inspection-General of Health Activities (IGAS) irregularities in 23 recruitment contests of nurses, pointing out failures in wage negotiation, selection criteria and transparency of processes.

According to the union, the complaint submitted to IGAS on 12 October resulted from the monitoring and legal analysis of 23 competitions, held between July and September this year, which allowed identifying “a set of practices that could compromise legality, transparency and equal opportunities in access to jobs.

For the Associação Sindical Portuguesa dos Enfermeiros (ASPE), “the results are worrying”: of the 23 competition procedures followed, only one was fully corrected, four registered express refusal of rectification, two were partially regularized and, in 16 cases, the employers did not respond to the union’s inquiries.

Among the most frequent situations, ASPE highlights the fixing of remuneration in the first remuneration position of the nursing career, without any express safeguard of the right to negotiate the remuneration position provided for in the applicable legislation.

“ This practice, identified in the vast majority of the procedures analyzed, promotes the removal of the SNS from nurses with professional experience and already acquired remuneration progression, who will not accept working for the same value as a newly licensed without experience ", warns in a statement.

The ASPE also identified failures in the publication of the competitions, omission of the number of vacancies, documentary requirements without adequate legal grounds and evaluation or tie-breaker criteria that could favor candidates with prior connection to the recruiting institutions.

The lack of publication of the minutes of the juries, containing the criteria and evaluation grids, is another of the concerns expressed by the union, for preventing candidates from knowing in advance all the applicable rules.

Before resorting to IGAS, the organization claims to have formally contacted employers, identifying situations considered irregular and requesting their correction, and the Executive Directorate of the SNS and the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Health, of which it has not received any response.

ASPE says that it has favoured “an institutional dialogue approach” to ensure the rapid adjustment of procedures, but “in the face of the lack of response from many institutions and the refusal of others to make the requested changes”, it decided to refer to IGAS the results of its intervention, accompanied by supporting documentation.

In its communication to IGAS, ASPE requests the verification of identified irregularities and the adoption of appropriate measures, including the issuing of recommendations to the institutions concerned.

It also argues that the patterns of irregularity detected are considered in future inspective actions and in the definition of guidelines addressed to health sector entities.

“ It is not acceptable for nurses to continue to be confronted with recruitment procedures that can limit their rights, devalue professional experience or compromise equal opportunities”, he argues.

ASPE reaffirms that it will continue to monitor the procurement procedures for nurses and to use the legal and institutional mechanisms necessary to defend the rights of professionals.