Nurses group seeks evened-up public, private hospital salaries

With the increasing number of Filipino healthcare workers heading overseas for higher wages, Philippine nurses are calling for equal pay in public and private hospitals.

According to the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), the incoming administration should look into implementing the proposed Philippine Nursing Act which would equalize the pay of nurses in public and private hospitals.

Nurses in public hospitals are estimated to earn P30,000 to P40,000 monthly and can earn as much as four times overseas, data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

“As much as we wanted na hindi ito ang maging [for this not to be the] solution, but this is the most realistic solution that our nurses are seeing in this situation,” PNA President Melvin Miranda said in a report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

“The government can take into consideration ‘yung how they can subsidize these private healthcare institutions on a plan where these private institutions to be subsidized accordingly para ma-establish ‘yung need na pag-transition if ever ipapantay na natin [we will equalize],” he added.

Based on the current guidelines, the Philippines can only deploy up to 7,000 nurses given the current environment as the country continues to face risks brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Beyond that, we cannot deploy anymore. Ang besides, if only the private hospitals will follow the minimum wage for our nurses, I am sure hindi na aalis ‘yung ating mga nurses [our nurses won’t leave anymore],” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in the same report.

“Ang dami kasing mga big hospitals in Metro Manila and for that matter, almost all the private hospitals do not follow the minimum wage for our healthcare workers kaya napipilitan silang umalis dahil napakababa ng sweldo nila,” he continued.

(There are a lot of big hospitals in Metro Manila and for that matter, almost all the private hospitals do not follow the minimum wage for our healthcare workers. Which is why they are forced to leave because of their low salaries.)

For its part, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) said the government should look at controlling the deployment of nurses to prevent a shortage in the country.

“Siguro dapat lang po na medyo ma-control natin ang pag labas ng ating mga nurses nang sa ganun naman po ay hindi tayo maubusan ng ating mga nurses right now,” PHAPI President Dr. Jose Rene De Grano said in the same report.

“Nung nakaraang taon 11,000 lang nakapasa sa board. Kung sosobra pa doon, lalabas na limitasyon ng ating mga ospital sa pag-admit ng ating pasyente,” he added.

(Maybe there should be controls on the deployment of our nurses so we can prevent a shortage. In the past year, only 11,000 passed the board. If we deploy more than that our hospitals will have limitations in admitting patients.)

PHAPI also noted the difficulties in raising the salaries of nurses, as they face difficulties in receiving payments from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

PhilHealth officials and the camp President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. have yet to comment on the matter. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News