While it welcomes the proposals to increase the salary of nurses, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Tuesday said that the compensation Filipino nurses get when working abroad might still be a “little higher.”
In the “Laging Handa” Public Briefing, POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said that the agency welcomes the proposals to increase the salaries of Filipino nurses in the country. “Maganda naman at ating inaddress din ang malimit na problema na sinasabi ng ating mga nurses na nagtatrabaho rito sa ating bansa. Isa iyon na sinasabi nila na mababa po ang kanilang natatanggap na sweldo (It is good that we’re also addressing the frequent problems that our nurses working here in our country say. Among the issues that they raise is that they receive a low salary),” he explained.
On the proposal to double the salary of nurses, Olalia said that it is also a welcome move. “Mabuti at binigyan na ng kaukulang pansin ang kanilang problema sa sweldo, siguro makakatulong ito sa mga nurses natin na dito na sa ating bansa nag-desisyon na magtrabaho kasama ang kanilang pamilya. (It’s a good thing that this is being addressed and this will probably help our nurses who decided to stay here in our country to work so they can be with their families),” he added.
However, Olalia noted that the salaries of nurses when they work abroad might still be higher. “Sa totoo lang, mataas pa rin ang diperensya ng sweldo natin dito at ang ino-offer na sweldo sa ibang bansa (Honestly, our salary difference here and the salary offered abroad are still high),” he explained.
Olalia noted that in some destination countries, Filipino nurses receive not less than ₱100,000 per month as starting salary. “When they become fully-acknowledged nurses in the destination country, their salaries get even higher,” he added.
Meanwhile, Olalia maintained that Filipino nurses remain the “Number one” choice of employers abroad. “Number one preferred choice po sa mundo ang ating mga nurses,” he said.
The top destinations for Filipino nurses, Olalia said, include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East such as Qatar, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates.
Olalia added that there is also high demand for Filipino nurses in Europe - particularly , in the United Kingdom and Germany - as well as in the United States of America.
After months of temporary suspension, the Philippine government has lifted the deployment ban on Filipino health care workers (HCWs) abroad, including nurses, with certain limitations.