Better pay, benefits for Filipino nurses pushed

PAGADIAN CITY – Following the continued exodus of Filipino nurses for a better job pay abroad and the shortage of healthcare workers in the country, the United Private Hospital Unions of the Philippines (UPHUP) called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to put healthcare workers in his priority agenda for Congress in his upcoming State of the Nation Address.

UPHUP said Marcos must ensure that the country is protected by a robust health sector by ensuring adequate compensation and comprehensive benefits for workers in the industry.

 

It said nurses opt not to work in the healthcare sector because of the grim reality that entry-level pay, especially in the private sector, remains close to starvation wages. Private hospital nurses receive a paltry entry-level salary ranging from P15,000 to 20,000 a month while their counterparts in the public health sector earn a minimum of P35,000.

 

This is why there are many nurses who just go for jobs in the call center industry for example, which offers more competitive pay scales than private hospitals and clinics, according to the UPHUP.

 

Moreover, it said nurses are exposed to hazardous substances and viruses in private hospitals without

the benefit of hazard pay while government healthcare workers receive hazard pays amounting to P9,000 per month and those in the private health sector only receive P100 - 300 per month if they have a recognized union.

 

UPHUP said it continues to demand the provision of compensation granted to healthcare workers as they continue to render services. Irrespective of the presence of COVID-19, healthcare workers remain vulnerable to various viruses, thus necessitating humane benefits.

 

“Ultimately, what the government should do is enact a standardized salary pay scale for the healthcare sector, bridging the wage gap between public and private hospitals. Enact a Magna Carta for Health Workers that would ensure hazard pay for all health workers. Specifically for nurses, the Philippine Nursing Act should also be one of the top priorities of Congress,” it said. (Mindanao Examiner)