Gov’t nurses to get another 20% pay hike under new standardization law

Nurses working in government health institutions are set to receive another 20% increase in their base monthly pay over the next four years under the proposed Salary Standardization Law V.

According to Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor, the starting pay of government nurses will be increased by P6,088 given in four installments starting January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2023 under the proposed new salary schedule.

This means that the base monthly pay nurses will go up from P30,531 to P36,619 in four years.

“A starting monthly pay of P36,619 is not that bad, considering that government will also be paying a mid-year bonus equal to a month’s salary, on top of the 13th month pay and P5,000 yearend cash gift, among other standard incentives and allowances,” Defensor said.

The entry-level pay for government nurses was pegged at P20,754, but the Supreme Court recently upheld the validity of a legal provision that sets their basic pay to Salary Grade 15.

Currently, Salary Grade 15 has a minimum pay rate of P30,531 for Step 1 and a maximum rate of P33,279 for Step 8.

With the proposed new salary schedule, Defensor said the pay rate of Salary Grade 15 will gradually go up to P36,619 for Step 1 to P39,367 for Step 8.

“We are counting on the 76 percent (or P15,865) increase in the base pay – from P20,754 to P36,619 – to help reduce the migration of Filipino nurses, and to encourage new nursing graduates to practice their profession,” he said.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have already approved the proposed Salary Standardization Law V.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier certified the measure as urgent, and he is expected to sign it into law soon, Defensor said. —NB, GMA News