Nurses' group: 201 gov't hospitals yet to implement salary hike for entry level nurses

At least 201 government hospitals in the country have yet to implement the granting of Salary Grade 15 to nurses ranked Nurse 1 in defiance of the Nursing law and a Supreme Court ruling, the Filipino Nurses United (FNU) said Tuesday. 

FNU President Maristela Abenojar lamented that this is still the case even if the Department of Health already said in a Senate hearing last November 18 that it will issue a clarification that the implementation of Salary Grade 15 for Nurse 1 nurses is a go and that what is suspended is just the reclassification of those ranked Nurse 2 and above under the Department of Budget and Management Circular No. 2020-4.

“Halos lahat po ng LGU, hindi po nag-iimplement pa ng Salary Grade 15 para sa Nurse 1. Sa bahagi ng GOCCs, DOH, marami rin po [ang hindi pa nag-iimplement]. May sinumite po kaming listahan sa Senado. Ang partial list po natin, nasa 201 na mga ospital,” Abenojar said in an online briefing.

“Ang ibang health facilities, ang intindi nila, iyong [suspended] ay buong implementation ng circular ng DBM ang pinapahinto kaya iyong Salary Grade 15 ay hindi nila ipinapatupad. Iyong iba naman na nagpatupad na, ni-revert back iyong mga Nurse 1 sa Salary Grade 11 which is maling mali,” she added. 

Salary Grade 15 is a monthly salary which ranges from P32,053 to P34,801, while Salary Grade 11 amounts to a monthly salary of P22,316 to P24,391.

Abenojar then said the reality could be worse than their tally of 201 government hospitals. 

“Partial list. Hindi ibig sabihin na wala roon sa listahan ay nangangahulugan na nagpapatupad. Ito po ay partial dahil ito lang po ang mga dumulog po mismo sa FNU. Meron pa pong iba na hindi nag-implement at hindi nagbibigay ng statement nila,” Abenojar pointed out. 

“Sana lumabas na itong clarification ng DOH kasi nangako naman silang mabilis nilang gagawin. Hindi ko lang po alam kung ano ang mabilis sa DOH. November 18 po iyon [na nangako sila], December 1 na po ngayon. Kung makikita ninyo, ito ay klarong klarong ehemplo ng delay ng pagkilos sa bahagi ng gobyerno,” Abenojar added.

The FNU president said the DOH need not wait for nurses to file a complaint since the department has the motu proprio power to address the issue.

“Dapat ang automatic na gagawin ng DOH, pakilusin ang mga personnel nila. They have all the resources, lalo naman po na malawakan na ang panawagan na hindi nila natatanggap [ang Salary Grade 15], at para mabigyan ng palugit na maipatupad ito sa lalong madaling panahon. Kung 'di maipatupad, dapat mabigyan na ng sanctions, ” Abenojar said.

“Dapat po ngayong may COVID-19, paspas dapat ang kilos. May urgency because this is very important hindi lang po sa health workers. Nakasalalay rin dito iyong mga pasyente at ang kanilang mga pamilya. That is why this is extremely frustrating,” she added.

GMA News Online has contacted DOH for comment but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time.

The Philippines has recorded 431,630 COVID-19 cases as of Monday. Of this number, 398,658 recovered while 8,392 died. 

The number of active COVID-19 cases is at 24,580. —KG, GMA News