‘Nurses deserve better pay’

Nurses are among the lowest paid government workers in the country even after the passage of a law that mandates a higher compensation for nurses 13 years ago, Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman Richard J. Gordon lamented.

Gordon noted in his keynote speech at the Philippine Nurses’ Association national convention held in Davao recently, that the starting salary for nurses working in the government remains at salary grade 11, which provides a monthly pay of 18,549. In contrast, Republic Act No. 9173 or the Philippine Nursing Act for 2002 mandates the minimum base pay of nurses working in public health institutions should not be lower than salary grade 15.

“I find it sad that the government has not given the plight of our nurses priority, given their sacrifice and importance to society. The families of our nurses, some of whom sold their carabaos to send their children to nursing school, should have already been enjoying the benefits of the law for the past 13 years,” Gordon said.

The law calls for government institutions to pay nurses with an entry level salary of 24,887 but because this has yet to be implemented even after 13 years, nurses in the Philippines are among the lowest-paid government workers.

Gordon, who also led the probe of fly-by-night nursing schools under the 14th Congress, pointed out that the nonimplementation of the law also affected nurses employed in private hospitals, who are usually hired through the job order system and getting as low as 5,000 every month.

“Nursing is not just a profession, it’s a calling for public service under the most hazardous conditions. We should give them their due under the law, and we will see to this when the DOH budget for 2017 passes through the Senate,” Gordon said.