House bill filed to raise nurses’ pay

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

QUEZON CITY, Philippines – A bill that seeks to raise the   salaries  of nurses in the country has been filed at the House of Representatives.

House Bill No. 178 filed by Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate sought to upgrade the compensation of government nurses from the present Salary Grade 11, which corresponds to amonthly pay P15,649  to Salary Grade 15 or P24,887/month.

“The bill aims to upgrade the minimum salary grade level of nurses to provide them with just compensation and to encourage more health workers to work in government hospitals instead of going abroad,” Colmenares said in a statement on Monday.

Colmenares lamented that amid the clamor of health groups and the continuing increase in the daily cost of living, the govenment still failed to provide for public nurses.

“This resulted in registered nurses seeking jobs abroad or in unrelated industries,” he said.

Colmeares also noted  a shortage of working nurses  in the country despite the “mushrooming” of nursing schools and the large number of graduates here.

It was the government’s concern and responsibility, he said,  to provide adequate remuneration for health workers “to enhance general welfare and to attract and retain its rightful share of talents to fulfill the state policy of providing health services to the Filipinos.” Kristine Angeli Sabillo, Inquirer.net

 Originally posted at 10:51 a.m.