Western Australia attempted to lure 30,000 British doctors, nurses, police officers and teachers Down Under
Western Australia has made a daring attempt to ‘steal’ 31,000 British doctors, police officers and teachers to work in the land Down Under.
In a nod to the ‘Ten Pound Poms’ scheme introduced after World War II, a delegation of government and industry officials will visit the UK later this month to lure workers away to fill more than 31,000 vacancies.
They are also hunting miners, plumbers, mechanics and construction workers.
They promise hard-working Brits they can ‘have it all’ and boast that the UK’s energy bill – up to £2,600 this year – will cost Australia nearly half, with the savings spent on 183 pints of beer, 110 roasts or 500 pots beer Marmite.
Police and Defense Industry Minister Paul Papalia also highlighted Western Australia’s ‘wine regions’, ‘coral reefs’ and ‘culinary scene’.
Western Australia has made a daring attempt to ‘steal’ 31,000 British doctors, police officers and teachers to work in the land Down Under
Police and Defense Industry Minister Paul Papalia (pictured with Rafael Nadal, left, in 2020) highlighted Western Australia’s ‘wine regions’, ‘coral reefs’ and ‘culinary scene’
He said: ‘Our wages are higher and our cost of living is lower. Our healthcare system is world class. You will be taken care of.
“Many of our ancestors were sent to Australia from the UK as convicts. Now it would be a crime not to take the step.’
But with the UK public sector facing staff shortages, concerns have arisen over the plan.
Steve Brine MP, chair of the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee, said: ‘Each country obviously has the right to import health workers – as we do in the UK from elsewhere – but there is nothing to say our people have to go. ‘
Another committee member, Tory MP Paul Bristow, said the Australians’ choice of the word ‘steal’ was ‘unfortunate’, adding: ‘We need to demonstrate the benefits of working in the UK to help them stay .
“It shows that we need to redouble our efforts to recruit new nurses and new doctors and to demonstrate the benefits of a career in the UK.”
Steve Hartshorn, national president of the Police Federation, said: “We need every officer we have in this time of crisis.”
He added: “The impact of the departure of these experienced and trained officers will also affect the ability of those newer to the service to learn and develop, and to provide the best possible service to the public. offer.’
The Federation warned that as many as nine police officers a day are already submitting requests to be transferred to a police force on the other side of the world.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the education selection committee, MP Robin Walker, said the plan shows that we are “competing” with the global market.
He said: ‘Obviously we have to worry about losing good teachers trained in the English system – the best way to deal with that is to make it attractive to stay.’
It comes as the UK public sector is facing severe staff shortages and crippling strikes.
The NHS is facing a shortage of 12,000 hospital doctors and more than 50,000 nurses and midwives.
The British Medical Association announced before Christmas that a third of trainee doctors plan to leave the UK – with the majority choosing either Australia or New Zealand.
Professor Phil Banfield, chairman of the board of the British Medical Association, said the NHS is ‘dangerously exposed to these sorts of tactics from other countries at a time when there is a dire shortage of doctors and healthcare workers worldwide’.
Nuffield Trust Senior Fellow Dr. Billy Palmer said there is a ‘risk it will go further’ with 900 doctors moving to Australia in May 2022 alone to practice.
The NHS is facing a shortage of 12,000 hospital doctors and more than 50,000 nurses and midwives amid crippling strikes. Pictured: A nurse holds a placard as members of the Royal College of Nursing picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in Westminster on Feb. 6
Steve Brine MP (pictured), chair of the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee, said: ‘Each country obviously has the right to import health workers – as we in the UK do from elsewhere – but there is nothing to say that our people have to do that. to go’
Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said: ‘It’s no wonder NHS workers are tempted to stick with another health service that pays better.
The UK government has allowed NHS workers’ wages to fall behind, which is a huge factor in the record 133,000 health care vacancies and missed performance standards.
“If ministers want to preserve health care’s best asset – the workforce – they need to talk about wages now.”
The Department of Health said the majority of UK-trained doctors and nurses work in the NHS.
The delegation arrives on February 25 and will hold events and attend job fairs in London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Dublin in an effort to sell the Australian lifestyle to British and Irish workers.
The new campaign focuses on the appeal of lifestyle and promises: ‘The culinary scene is world class, the small bars are plentiful, we have pubs and live music and all kinds of theatre.’
It even boasted that the UK-Australia trade deal coming into effect this year will make relocating workers even easier.