MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers are seeking the increase of the basic pay of government nurses to a minimum of P30,000.
The Makabayan bloc of representatives from various party-lists filed House Bill 7196 or the “An Act Upgrading the Minimum Monthly Salary of Nurses to P30,000 and Providing for Benefits for Nurses” on February 19, 2018.
The group strongly believes that under Republic Act 9173, or the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, nurses in state hospitals should hold Salary Grade 15, which pays P30,531 a month.
Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, the lead group in Makabayan said that significant changes have to made as a response to the “wide and strong clamor of government workers and nurses amid the rising cost of living.”
Zarate added, “These salary bills will help cushion the impact of the so-called tax reform law and the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities. While military and police personnel have doubled their salaries, the pay of other state workers has remained low.”
They also pointed out that in addition to low pay, nurses also seem to lack laws granting them additional benefits, like overtime pay, hazard pay, call pay, and night shift differential.
The bloc hopes that the administration would heed their call and expedite the approval of their proposal. They also took note of how the administration was able to prioritize the recent increase of salaries of soldiers and police officers and hopes the authorities would do the same.
Meanwhile, the Department of Budget and Management has fixed the nurses’ pay at Salary Grade 11, where they are expected to receive P20,754.
Drilon: Other government professionals should also get pay hike
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon called out the administration to also include other government professionals such as nurses in the pay hike to avoid discrepancies
This came after President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to double the pay of cops and soldiers and a promise to look into the increase teachers’ salary.
Drilon pointed out, “It is important that a review of the compensation package for the civilian personnel is undertaken in order to avoid wage distortion and inequality and make the salary of government professionals at par with their counterparts in the military and the police.”
Feb 21: Day of Action for Salary Increase
Aside from government nurses, party-list representatives also call for the increase of entry-level salary of public school teachers to P30,000 and the P16,000 for regular entry-level government employees.
They will be holding a protest on February 21 to demand the administration to grant the increase for all government employees this year.They will march from UST, España to Mendiola.
— Sally, The Summit Express
The Makabayan bloc of representatives from various party-lists filed House Bill 7196 or the “An Act Upgrading the Minimum Monthly Salary of Nurses to P30,000 and Providing for Benefits for Nurses” on February 19, 2018.
The group strongly believes that under Republic Act 9173, or the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, nurses in state hospitals should hold Salary Grade 15, which pays P30,531 a month.
 |
| House Bill 7196 “An Act Upgrading the Minimum Monthly Salary of Nurses to P30,000 and Providing for Benefits for Nurses” | Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Kabataan Party-list |
 |
| House Bill 7196 “An Act Upgrading the Minimum Monthly Salary of Nurses to P30,000 and Providing for Benefits for Nurses” | Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Kabataan Party-list |
Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, the lead group in Makabayan said that significant changes have to made as a response to the “wide and strong clamor of government workers and nurses amid the rising cost of living.”
Zarate added, “These salary bills will help cushion the impact of the so-called tax reform law and the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities. While military and police personnel have doubled their salaries, the pay of other state workers has remained low.”
They also pointed out that in addition to low pay, nurses also seem to lack laws granting them additional benefits, like overtime pay, hazard pay, call pay, and night shift differential.
 |
| The Makabayan bloc calls for a pay hike for government employees | Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ Kabataan Party-list |
The bloc hopes that the administration would heed their call and expedite the approval of their proposal. They also took note of how the administration was able to prioritize the recent increase of salaries of soldiers and police officers and hopes the authorities would do the same.
Meanwhile, the Department of Budget and Management has fixed the nurses’ pay at Salary Grade 11, where they are expected to receive P20,754.
Drilon: Other government professionals should also get pay hike
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon called out the administration to also include other government professionals such as nurses in the pay hike to avoid discrepancies
This came after President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to double the pay of cops and soldiers and a promise to look into the increase teachers’ salary.
Drilon pointed out, “It is important that a review of the compensation package for the civilian personnel is undertaken in order to avoid wage distortion and inequality and make the salary of government professionals at par with their counterparts in the military and the police.”
Feb 21: Day of Action for Salary Increase
 |
| Day of Action for Salary Increase | Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ ACT Party-list |
Aside from government nurses, party-list representatives also call for the increase of entry-level salary of public school teachers to P30,000 and the P16,000 for regular entry-level government employees.
They will be holding a protest on February 21 to demand the administration to grant the increase for all government employees this year.They will march from UST, España to Mendiola.
— Sally, The Summit Express
