Outsourced hospital staff seek gov’s help

A DOCTOR and 10 other outsourced workers in Sogod and Danao District Hospitals are asking Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III to compel their agency to grant them work benefits.

In a letter to the governor, Dr. Francisco Dayak and 10 others hired by 5 Stars Amalgamated Manpower and Allied Services Inc., said the agency has not released their 13th month pay for 2103 and other benefits.

They said they have been working in district hospitals since April 2013 and have been denied their compensation for three months, from September to November by their agency.

“We have been working for many months and have been denied our compensation for three successive months and yet we continued to work because we do not want to compromise the health of our people especially the poor in the province,” said their letter dated Dec. 31, 2013.

“We, as health providers, did our duties in spite of the nonpayment of our salary. We abandoned our families without food to eat because we are totally out of money and are morally obliged to do and fulfill our duties,” Dayak and the 10 workers said.

They lamented that the agency didn’t remit their contributions to the SSS, Medicare, Pag-ibig and failed to pay them for overtime work during legal holidays.

Governor Davide told reporters the Capitol can ask the agency to grant the employees’ benefits.

“We don’t have full control over this because the Capitol does not have an employee-employer relationship with these personnel. But we can demand that they be paid. That’s the agency’s obligation,” he said.

Davide has declared it his policy to end the outsourcing of employees under the Cebu provincial government, especially in district hospitals, to improve the quality of healthcare by ensuring tenure of health professionals. He said this is part of his thrust in personnel development and capacity building./Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos