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| Africa North |
| Libyan hospital plays race card, 'wants white nurses only' |
| 2009-03-07 |
| BA Libyan hospital is recruiting nurses from South Africa - but wants white nurses only. The advertisement, published on Gumtree.co.za on February 12 by a local recruitment agency, reads: "I'm currently recruiting enrolled nurses for a hospital in Libya, Africa. "Their criteria is that all applicants must be of white nationality. "This is their criteria." Successful applicants will receive "free accommodation", will not pay tax, and will earn up to $2 000 (R21 000) per month, according to the advertisement. By late yesterday, the advertisement had been visited 52 times. Rhonda van Zyl, the recruitment agent who placed the advert on Gumtree, said in an email yesterday that the hospital's criterion "read Caucasian due to their staffing ratios". "The hospital wants to reach a five-star status. Two international groups of top medical teams visited the hospital over the past two years to help them identify the list of changes they would need to make in order to achieve this goal," Van Zyl said in her email. "You will notice that I've targeted only the Enrolled Nurses, which are the least experienced, as the ratios on all the other levels of their medically-trained staff are correct," Van Zyl said. "I'm sourcing staff on an international basis, and not just targeting South Africa." She did not say whether the hospital in question was a state-run or private institution. "I can assure you that upon receipt of this assignment, I immediately reacted with complete outrage and contacted (the hospital) immediately," she wrote. Danzel van Zyl, a senior researcher with the SA Human Rights Commission, said yesterday that the advertisement had "clearly racist intentions" and was "blatantly excluding" many people from applying. He did not blame the recruiting company, saying it was "just repeating" the conditions outlined by the Libyan hospital. However, he questioned why Gumtree had allowed the advertisement to run. "It's a foreign advert - but to what extent should South African companies put this stuff out there?" He said the advertisement would have been illegal if it had been created by a South African hospital or organisation, as it would have violated the Labour Relations Act and the constitution. "It's morally repugnant, but on the face of it, it's not illegal." Gumtree did not respond to requests for comment. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #4 I wonder if there would have been as much outrage from Mr. van Zyl if the ad had said "Must be of black nationality". |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2009-03-07 19:22 |
| #3 Right, Frank. They must be low on scapegoats. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2009-03-07 17:45 |
| #2 I'd be really leery of nursing in Libya. Remember the Bulgarian nurses accused of infecting kids with HIV/AIDS? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-07 16:40 |
| #1 Gee. Whites as a minority getting hiring preferences. |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-03-07 16:12 |