Nursing Up: “Bertolaso’s plan on recruiting South American nurses could turn into a dangerous boomerang”
«We note, in these hours, that the Bertolaso plan, on the recruitment of Italian South American nurses, is progressing quickly. In fact, the triumphalist tones with which the Councilor for Welfare of the Lombardy Region continues his “ambitious intent”, convinced of the validity of a project which involves the definition of a bilateral agreement with countries such as Argentina and Paraguay, with to which an agreement in principle had already been reached.
Bertolaso intends to train South American health professionals, adapting them to our complex system, and therefore making them, let it be clear, suitable to cover at least in part the enormous personnel chasm that grips Lombardy (9 thousand nurses in total missing, 2500 are needed to resolve the immediate need for public emergency departments).
Bertolaso himself went so far as to announce that there could be as many as 3,000 non-EU nurses ready to arrive in Italy by the end of the year.”
Thus Antonio De Palma, National President of Nursing Up.
«For our part, we have the intellectual honesty to admit that it will certainly not be our reflections and legitimate complaints that will stop Bertolaso’s intentions overnight, also because we certainly cannot enter into the sphere of decisions that fall within his competence.
On the other hand, however, apparently, the Councilor for Welfare is ignoring the criticisms, even heavy ones which, following the continuation of his intentions (complete with press conferences), are literally raining down on him like a real Avalanche.
These are complaints that do not only come from trade unions like ours, aware that the priority to deal with is the valorisation of our assistance professionals, but also and above all from illustrious exponents of the Italian scientific community and who corroborate the reflections with whom we commented on the Bertolaso plan for the first time a few days ago. We were the first to intervene when the Councilor accused “certain unions” of the health professions of not having a constructive and proactive attitude, continues De Palma.
Let’s be clear, once and for all, we have nothing against Bertolaso’s actions (in the Milan Plenary of 2013 we personally met his staff) and much less do we act, as is not our habit, by “bias”, against the arrival of foreign healthcare professionals.
But we cannot help but express great concern, linked precisely to the modus operandi of a policy that persists in seeking “dangerous and tortuous shortcuts”.
We cannot therefore ignore the risks that such interventions can pose on the already deficient stability of Italian healthcare and on the quality of healthcare services dedicated to the community.
Incredible but true, it is very serious to hide our heads in the sand and not take into account the strengths we have at home, letting the best excellences “escape” from our hands, which we seem to have refused to invest in for too long.
On the other hand, it may seem like a quick and easy solution to bring foreign healthcare professionals to Italy, claiming to even act in the interests of the nations involved in the agreements.
Bertolaso, De Palma continues, cannot fail to realize that we are not only faced with linguistic barriers which will require a period of training and adaptation for these professionals which hopefully implies their dutiful, non-immediate employment, in the interests of the patients. . But we also have nurses who come from territories far from ours and who will need further time to learn an approach with the patient, and profiles of inter-professional collaboration in which we Italians know how to be unique.
Do we really have all this time on our hands? Can we grant these nurses a training time of no less than 9 months as happens in Germany with our local professionals?
The plausible fear is that a part of these South American nurses will necessarily be thrown into the fray a few weeks after arriving in Italy, further burdening even more the daily work of their already operational colleagues, who will also have to take care of the new hires, trying to compensate, where possible, for their shortcomings. And with what consequences for our patients? Do we really need all this?”, comments De Palma.
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South American nurses recruited? Nursing Up alarm vs the Bertolaso plan
it becomes clear what might have happened to the lost millions
This is what the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund companies Žvirgždaičių energija, Nullus and Moelta indicated to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal, which examined the issue of the jurisdiction of the lawsuit filed by them.
Estonia’s OB Holding 1, which owns Olybet.ee, seeks to have the litigation transferred to this country. According to portal vz.lt, Š. Stepukonis’ gambling turnover from company funds could reach a total of 38.5 million. euros.
ELTA reminds that the former partner of BaltCap Infrastructure Fund Š. Stepukonis was arrested in Vilnius in February. He is suspected of embezzling about 40 million. euro capital fund funds, at least part of which could have been lost by the casino.
After the District Court of Vilnius City granted the prosecutor’s request and allowed the suspect Š. Stepukonis to fasten his collar, the former partner of “BaltCap” was released on Friday afternoon.
The investigation into the activities of Š. Stepukonis is controlled by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Financial Crimes Investigation Service (FNTT) is assigned to carry it out. European Prosecutor Darius Karčinskas applied to the court on Thursday, requesting an extension of Š. Stepukonis’ arrest for another month.
Two pre-trial investigations are being conducted regarding Š. Stepukonis. In the first, he is suspected of approximately 27 million. embezzlement of funds from BaltCap funds. According to the prosecutor’s office, more than 20 million Š. Stepukonis could lose EUR. At that time, another part of the money could have been lost in risky investments through the Interactive Brokers platform.
The second pre-trial investigation was resumed after the opening of the first. In 2022, the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office started a pre-trial investigation from Paysera LT after receiving information about the transfer of 3.9 million from the Polish company to the account of Š. Stepukonis. euros. According to the prosecutor’s office, it was then established that the money was transferred during the execution of a share sale transaction, so the investigation was terminated.
Š. Stepukonis managed infrastructure fund companies in Lithuania for various periods and was the chairman of the board of project companies in Poland. According to the register of legal entities, in Lithuania he is a former member of BaltCap Infrastructure Fund companies Investment uostas, Knowledge investment, Moelta, Nullus, Safe community, Urban Revitalisation, Vējo sesės 1, Head of Venetus capital”, “Vilnius multi-functional complex” and “Žvirgždaičių energija”.
At the time, Š. Stepukonis was listed in the Polish register as the former chairman of the board of companies “Izim SP”, “Deuteros Izim Edu”, “EN Efficiency PL”, “Protos Izim Edu” and “Tritos Izim Edu”. According to BaltCap’s website, Izim is a dedicated portfolio company that aims to raise living standards in Polish cities by upgrading public infrastructure.
it becomes clear what might have happened to the lost millions
Biden seeks to triple US tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum
Washington. President Joe Biden wants to triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imported by the United States, considering that there is “unfair competition” that penalizes workers in his country, the White House announced this Wednesday in the midst of the election campaign.
“China’s policies and subsidies in favor of its local steel and aluminum industries mean that high-quality American products are harmed,” the White House emphasized in a statement.
At a campaign event in Pennsylvania, a key state for the November presidential elections and with a deep industrial past, Biden stated that “Chinese steel companies do not need to worry about making profits because the Chinese government is subsidizing them.”
“They are not competing, they are cheating,” the president launched at the headquarters of the United Steelworkers union in Pittsburgh.
Biden, who at 81 years old hopes to be re-elected in November against Donald Trump, asked the Trade Representative (USTR) to “triple the current tariffs,” of 7.5 percent on average, imposed on a portion of the Chinese steel and aluminum imported by USA.
Despite these numbers, Biden denied that he is seeking a “trade war” with China. “They are xenophobic,” he stated. “They have really asked for problems. “I do not want a confrontation with China, but competition, fair competition,” he insisted.
The Democratic president wants to convince voters that he is the best ally of workers and unions.
Recently, he obtained the support of the metalworkers union for the elections, after opposing the purchase of the American steel group US Steel by the Japanese Nippon Steel.
For his part, the former Republican president Donald Trump (2017-2021) is also trying to win the working class vote: he presents himself as the champion of the reactivation of the American manufacturing industry and promised to substantially raise – once again, as he did in his previous presidency – the tariffs in case of victory.
Argues issues of economic and internal security
In parallel, Washington announced the launch of an investigation into “China’s unfair practices in the shipyard, maritime transport and logistics sectors.”
This investigation will be carried out by the USTR office and responds to a request from several union organizations in these sectors, which denounce Chinese policies, “more aggressive and interventionist than those of any other country.”
These are accusations “that reflect what we have already seen in other sectors,” reacted on Wednesday the US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, who promised to carry out a “complete and in-depth” investigation.
“Steel is an essential component for our national shipbuilding industry,” the White House said.
The US blames China for its own industrial problems, Beijing responds
Beijing denounces “false accusations” from Washington. The investigation “misinterprets normal trade and investment activities as harmful to national security and the interests of American companies,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
The United States “imposes its own industrial problems on China,” he stressed.
These announcements are part of a context of strong rivalry with China, despite the renewed dialogue between the two largest world economies, and measures to reduce US dependence on Chinese industries.
“Steel made in the United States remains essential to our economic and domestic security,” but “high-quality American products are in competition with artificially cheap alternatives produced with higher carbon emissions,” the White House emphasized.
Growing concern
The Biden administration cited “growing concerns that China’s unfair trade practices, such as flooding the market with steel sold below market cost, are distorting the global shipbuilding market and eroding competition.”
The European Union is in a tug-of-war with Beijing, which it accuses of distorting its market by flooding it with low-priced products, and not just metals.
Chilean industry also denounces disadvantage in the face of Chinese steel
In Latin America, the steel industry, which generates 1.4 million jobs, is also concerned and demands import taxes.
The main Chilean steel company, Huachipato, recently announced the gradual suspension of its operations if it does not receive tariff protection, overwhelmed by the avalanche of Chinese steel that is marketed up to 40 percent cheaper than that produced in Chile. About 3 thousand jobs are at risk.
Biden seeks to triple US tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum