Migrante celebrates victory of Sentosa nurses
Philippines — Migrante International, together with the relatives and friends of the nurses tagged as the Sentosa 27++, celebrated the legal victory of the ten nurses and one lawyer acquitted from the criminal charges filed against them by SentosaCare LLC in New York.
The nurses, former employees of Avalon Gardens in Woodmere, New York, were charged with patient endangerment by SentosaCare after they resigned from their posts in 2006 due to unpaid back wages, discrimination and being recruited under false pretenses.
The lawyer they went to for advice was charged with criminal solicitation.
Earlier this year, an appeals court cleared them of the charges, which it said violated the nurses' 13th Amendment rights that protect against "involuntary servitude."
In the case of the lawyer. the court said to "potentially inflict punishment for the good faith provision of legal advice is, in our view, more than a First Amendment violation. It is an assault on the adversarial system of justice."
The nurses contended they left work at the end of their shifts and that no patient was ever in danger.
One, Maria Theresa Ramos, told The Associated Press she stayed four hours past the scheduled end of her shift to ensure that the patients received proper care.
Gina Gaborni, Migrante’s deputy secretary general, said: "This victory is, indeed, a vindication for the nurses.
"This is a glimmer of hope for migrant workers who are up against an unscrupulous giant such as SentosaCare."
The nurses are part of the group called Sentosa 27++, all health workers recruited in the Philippines by the SRA.
They signed contracts with specific agencies only to find out, once in the States, that they were farmed out to agencies different from the ones they had an agreement with. When they resigned, they were charged with breach of contract by SentosaCare LLC.
The nurses fought back and filed illegal recruitment cases against SRA at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POE), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Justice.
Initially, the POEA found grounds to temporarily suspend Sentosa but after then Cabinet member Mike Defensor intervened in behalf of SRA, the suspension order was cancelled and subsequent cases were dismissed.
"This is a clear case of illegal recruitment, or human trafficking and government once again proved the interests they serve are not the interests of migrant workers," Gaborni said. " How ironic that we are taking heart from the justice system of a foreign country rather than from our own government."
But Gaborni said the fight will continue. “The Sentosa Recruitment Agency must be shut down!" she said.
In early 2007, Nafcon launched a community-led campaign called "Justice for the Sentosa 27++."
The 10 Avalon nurses along with more than 17 others, all health workers recruited from the same agency in the Philippines, had found themselves collectively duped by SentosaCare LLC for signing false contracts whose tenets were not honored once they migrated to the United States .
Essentially trafficked, the 26 nurses and one physical therapist were instead farmed out to a number of SentosaCare-owned nursing facilities throughout the New York area. When each found themselves under similar conditions as the 10 nurses of Avalon Gardens, they resigned and now each have civil case charges of breach of contract by SentosaCare LLC. - GMANews.TV and < AP
The nurses, former employees of Avalon Gardens in Woodmere, New York, were charged with patient endangerment by SentosaCare after they resigned from their posts in 2006 due to unpaid back wages, discrimination and being recruited under false pretenses.
The lawyer they went to for advice was charged with criminal solicitation.
Earlier this year, an appeals court cleared them of the charges, which it said violated the nurses' 13th Amendment rights that protect against "involuntary servitude."
In the case of the lawyer. the court said to "potentially inflict punishment for the good faith provision of legal advice is, in our view, more than a First Amendment violation. It is an assault on the adversarial system of justice."
The nurses contended they left work at the end of their shifts and that no patient was ever in danger.
One, Maria Theresa Ramos, told The Associated Press she stayed four hours past the scheduled end of her shift to ensure that the patients received proper care.
Gina Gaborni, Migrante’s deputy secretary general, said: "This victory is, indeed, a vindication for the nurses.
"This is a glimmer of hope for migrant workers who are up against an unscrupulous giant such as SentosaCare."
The nurses are part of the group called Sentosa 27++, all health workers recruited in the Philippines by the SRA.
They signed contracts with specific agencies only to find out, once in the States, that they were farmed out to agencies different from the ones they had an agreement with. When they resigned, they were charged with breach of contract by SentosaCare LLC.
The nurses fought back and filed illegal recruitment cases against SRA at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POE), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Justice.
Initially, the POEA found grounds to temporarily suspend Sentosa but after then Cabinet member Mike Defensor intervened in behalf of SRA, the suspension order was cancelled and subsequent cases were dismissed.
"This is a clear case of illegal recruitment, or human trafficking and government once again proved the interests they serve are not the interests of migrant workers," Gaborni said. " How ironic that we are taking heart from the justice system of a foreign country rather than from our own government."
But Gaborni said the fight will continue. “The Sentosa Recruitment Agency must be shut down!" she said.
In early 2007, Nafcon launched a community-led campaign called "Justice for the Sentosa 27++."
The 10 Avalon nurses along with more than 17 others, all health workers recruited from the same agency in the Philippines, had found themselves collectively duped by SentosaCare LLC for signing false contracts whose tenets were not honored once they migrated to the United States .
Essentially trafficked, the 26 nurses and one physical therapist were instead farmed out to a number of SentosaCare-owned nursing facilities throughout the New York area. When each found themselves under similar conditions as the 10 nurses of Avalon Gardens, they resigned and now each have civil case charges of breach of contract by SentosaCare LLC. - GMANews.TV and < AP
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