‘Our nurses need to be cared for too’

Despite the large gap of nurse to patient ratio, there are not enough plantilla positions being opened and filled-in by the government said Maristela P. Abenojar, RN, MAN, Aksyon Health Workers Secretary General and second nominee.

“Nurses are vital in any health care system. Despite the critical role they assume, their rights and welfare are neglected,” she said.

Citing data from the Filipino Nurses United, nurses can hardly survive with a salary of P18,000 per month in the public sector and P8,000 to P10,000 a month in the private sector. In Lanao Del Norte, some registered nurses are reported to receive only a meager P318 per day.

Although laws that were supposed to guarantee the rights and welfare of public health workers are in place, these are not fully implemented in the work place. Health workers employed in the private sector are not covered by a Magna Carta too, added Abenojar.

Aksyon Health Workers support the Filipino Nurses United and the entire Filipino nurses’ call on Philippine Nurses’ Week to uplift the dignity of the nurse, by increasing their salary to P30,000 including all benefits for all entry-level nurses, re-classification of nurses in the private sector from “non-agricultural workers” to professional status, repeal of the mandatory Continuing Professional Development Law of 2016 as a requirement for PRC ID renewal, and the clamor for a Magna Carta of Private Health Workers that includes nurses.

Moreover, Aksyon Health Workers called on the Senate and Congress to support a health budget that will genuinely care for the Filipino people and its health workers. Abenojar explained that if the Department of Budget and Management-proposed budget cut of P39-billion to the health department will be ratified by the bicameral committee, 15,000 health workers will lose their jobs – “including many of our nurses.” Aksyon Health Workers