THE Senate approved Wednesday a long-awaited basic salary increase for nurses in state-run hospitals.
Saying the pay hike was “well-deserved,” Sen. Richard Gordon confirmed that P3.173 billion “shall be appropriated to upgrade the salaries of Nurse I and Nurse II positions.”
In a statement, Gordon lauded the Senate action, saying “nurses deserve the approval to properly implement Section 32 of Republic Act 9173 or The Philippine Nursing Act of 2002.”
The proposal is to set the minimum base pay for nurses working in government hospitals and health institutions so that they start at salary grade 15 or P31,545 per month.
“For a long time, the nurses of the country have been clamoring for the adjustment of their salaries,” the senator said, adding: “They are given low-paying jobs with no benefits, and hospitals have taken advantage of this system in a way that these hospitals become stepping stones for nurses to work abroad.”
He said the Senate action manifests the lawmakers’ support for the nursing sector, recognizing “its vital role to public health and realizes the need for health-care workers in the country, especially in the countryside.”
Gordon filed the enabling bill in July, to amend Republic Act 9173 or The Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, stressing the need for “a new comprehensive policy for Filipino nurses that will give them opportunities to advance themselves in the nursing field while they serve the country’s growing needs for healthcare professionals.”
The senator added: “We’re so much closer to giving that justice not just to our nurses, but to our people in need of better health care.”
Image credits: Hrlumanog | Dreamstime.com
1 comment
How about our private nurses? Isn’t this unfair for them since they are nurses as well doing the same job as our government nurses?