Due to a serious shortage of nurses after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Taiwan Union of Nurses’ Associations has made nine major demands, including allowing male nurses to work as their alternative military service.
Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said that the issues would be discussed with the Department of Conscription Administration.
There are also councilors asking the Taipei Department of Compulsory Military Service to collaborate with Taipei City Hospital to evaluate the feasibility of nursing work as an alternative military service and to seek the central government’s approval.
In view of the threat from China, the old system of one year of military service is to be restored for male conscripts born in and after 1994, replacing the four-month system, starting from Jan. 1 and applicable to standard and alternative military service. At the same time, eligibility for alternative service would be tightened significantly. Only alternative service for family and religious reasons would be retained, and there will be no more alternative service based on specialties, unless the draftee has nursing expertise on top of the family or religious reasons.
The association hopes that male nursing graduates would be automatically eligible for alternative service to avoid their work being interrupted.
However, further considerations are needed.
First, even though the military service period is being extended, it is only to be one year, compared with a minimum of four months currently. There are even some males born before Jan. 1, 1994, who the regulations say have to enter the one-year service period system, although the actual period would only be 11 months after deducting time they spent in military training in high school or university.
It is debatable whether it is necessary to go to great lengths to amend the law just for draftees who are nurses, as the difference might only be seven months of service.
Second, the reason the government changed the law to restrict the conditions for alternative service was to ensure that as many people as possible serve in the military.
If an exception were made for nurses, doctors and pharmacists are likely to make similar demands, which would only add to the confusion.
Nor is there a disciplinary mechanism for nurses who enter alternative service, but remain employed with pay, then resign after completing their military duties.
If the association is correct in its assessment that 11 months of military service would disrupt nursing resources, the police training system is a model worth considering. The government pays for students at police colleges and provides them a generous monthly stipend. After graduating, police students only need 15 days of training at the Chenggong Ling military training camp before starting work, meaning their careers are almost completely uninterrupted.
Should the graduate serve fewer than the required number of years, they must pay back part of what they were given and complete their military service.
As many experts have said, a shortage of care workers has become a “national security issue,” with only about 100,000 men in the industry last year due to the declining birthrate. Therefore, thought should be given to changing the law to have women enter alternative service in which they receive nursing training.
That would inject an additional 100,000 people into the nursing workforce, and it is also consistent with gender equality, while enhancing Taiwan’s mobilization capabilities.
Chao Hsuey-wen is an assistant professor and holds a doctorate in law from Fu Jen Catholic University.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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