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Cordillera, Ilocos health workers voice concerns

BAGUIO CITY (May 9) — Around 1,200 health workers in hospitals, local and regional health centers in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions commemorated National Health Workers Day on May 7 by wearing yellow ribbons printed with the theme “Uphold health workers rights! Yes to just wages and benefits!” to bring attention to the issues affecting health workers and the health care system.

Headed by the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) Cordillera-Ilocos, the campaign hopes to draw attention to the plight of health-care workers “who toil anonymously yet devotedly in hospitals, clinics, barangay health centers and units in rural and urban areas across the country”.

Last March 16, health workers also joined other government employees nationwide in calling for a P3,000 across-the-board monthly salary increase.

In a statement, the AHW pointed out that there had been no increase in salaries since 2001. Even the promised salary increase for nurses and midwives has not been implemented. The average monthly income of utility workers remain at P5, 082; nurses at P9,939.30; and P15,841 for doctors.

“This is a far cry from the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) standard of P17,820 per month for a family of six. Benefits like overtime pay, night shift differential pay are not given despite 16 to 32 hours of work. Other benefits such as hazard pay, longevity pay, subsistence and clothing allowance are often delayed and subjected to availability of savings”, the statement read.

Threats to job security remain with the continuing implementation of Executive Order 102 (Redirection and Reorganization of the Department of Health), Health Sector Reform Agenda and Executive Order 366 (Streamlining and Rationalization Functions of Government Agencies). These laws, the AHW claimed, will retrench some 1.4 million government workers in the guise of streamlining and reorganization.

With this, nurses, doctors and thousands join the exodus of many Filipinos abroad to pursue more dignifying and decent paying jobs.

With the health budget decreased yearly, almost all services in public hospitals have to be paid which are beyond the capacity of poor patients, the AHW claimed. Only 30 centavos is allotted for each Filipino for health services, AHW added.

The AHW criticized the government for implementing “anti-people” policies in the face of a worsening economic crisis.

The said organization maintained that if the government can allot better salaries for the military and police forces, then it should have a fund to address calls for justified salary hikes and benefits.

“The government can respond to the workers demands if it exercises political will to solve graft and corruption to which P160 billion is lost annually, and to go after big tax evaders from whom P54.1 billion remains uncollected. Also, the salary increase could easily be granted if government gives priority to its workers rather to paying more than P301 billion annually to foreign debt that has not benefited the Filipino people”, AHW said. # via NORDIS

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