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Wednesday, September 08, 2010 |
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| NURSES CRY OVER LONG OVERDUE SALARY INCREASE |
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NURSES CRY OVER LONG OVERDUE SALARY INCREASE:
Warns that this is causing Nurses to Consider Overseas employment We are just asking for the implementation of our Nursing Law! This is the message of the National President of the Philippine Nurses Association, Dr Leah Samaco Paquiz. She explained that since 2002, the Republic Act 9173, also known as the Nursing Act of 2002, the salaries of nurses should have been not lower
than salary grade 15. This is clear in Section 32 that in order to enhance the general welfare, commitment to service and professionalism of nurses, the minimum base pay of nurses working in public health institution shall not be lower than salary grade 15, points out Paquiz.
Six years after the enactment of the Nursing Law,
nurses remain to be underpaid in the Philippines. Under the law, a nurse in the government should be receiving a monthly salary of P16,093.00, but many nurses are still receiving way below this legal monthly salary. Some are receiving less that P 10,000 monthly income. How do we
expect these nurses to remain in government service with this kind of salary? ask Paquiz. She points out that while salary is not the reason why nurses serve, she recognizes that the foreign employment becomes more attractive to these nurses, who would have loved to
serve Filipinos if only they can be paid fair enough.
Paquiz asserts that many nurses are not intending to go abroad and would love to serve, but are discouraged by the very low salary they are getting from the workload that are given them. A nurse attends to fifty patients in many hospital settings, even if the ideal ratio is 1 nurse is
to 10 patients. But nurses do not complain and still
manage to perform their best.
We need to entice these nurses to work in public
health and in government service by this simple request to provide them what is just and legal, adds Paquiz. She clarifies that what they are asking for is not beyond what is mandated by the law. Whats taking them so long to
implement this salary, which beneficiary is not only the nurses but the general public that they most willingly serve? she inquires.
Nurses do not intend to rally or boycott their
post. But let us not wait for the time that they all leave to work abroad even if in their hearts, they love to serve the Filipinos,warns Paquiz. We can only have government to blame, if it fails to look into giving nurses what is due
them, she ends.
DR. LEAH PRIMITIVA G. SAMACO-PAQUIZ
National President
press release july 24, 2008
PNA website
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