TO help prevent the exodus of Filipino healthcare workers, a labor group has urged lawmakers to consider expanding the coverage of the bill granting a 75-percent wage increase for government nurses to also cover those in the private sector.
In a statement on Sunday, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) said the considerable pay increase for private sector nurses will ensure the local healthcare system will have a reliable pool of nurses.
It noted the considerable pay gap between local nurses and their counterparts abroad has forced many of them to work overseas.
“Private hospital employees and those working with private healthcare providers in the country also need improved compensation to discourage them from seeking opportunities abroad,” University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center Employees Union-FFW president Manuel Payao said.
The large demand for Filipino healthcare workers abroad, especially during the pandemic, has prompted the government to limit their deployment to initially 5,000, which was later increased to 7,500.
Payao said such “oppressive” deployment caps will no longer be necessary with the passage of House Bill 5276, which was filed by Quezon City Representative Marvin Rillo.
Under the proposed legislation, the entry-level salary for government nurses will be hiked from P36,619 to P63,997.
“If we don’t address these issues on wages, deployment cap, etc now, we risk losing our nurses to countries where they can earn in one month what they would earn in 10 years in the Philippines,” Payao said.
FFW president Sonny Matula welcomed the proposal and urged Congress to prioritize the passage of such “critical legislation.”
He also reiterated FFW’s call for lawmakers to pass a pending legislation granting workers a P150 across-the-board wage increase.