Health workers group calls for salary increase, improved working condition

A group of medical workers has called on the government to increase the salary and improve the working conditions of the country’s health workers.
The Alliance of Healthcare Workers (AHW) made the statement in time for the observance of the National Health Workers Day on May 7.
The AHW appealed for a P25,000 entry salary for health workers and to end contractualization.
"On this national day of health workers, we collectively call on the government to raise the salaries of health workers. We call on for a P25,000 entry salary for Salary Grade 1 (SG1) health workers," said AHW National President Robert Mendoza in a statement.
"It is timely and reasonable because in this time of pandemic and crisis, the existing national minimum wage can no longer cope up with the excessive increase in the prices of basic commodities, weakening purchasing power of peso and high tax payments being shouldered by the working people like us," he added.
The group said that the Duterte administration "continues to neglect" the safety, protection, rights and welfare of the country's health workers.
“The Duterte administration has never increased our salaries and worst, the number of contractual health workers in Government-owned and Controlled Corporation hospitals and other public hospitals has increased in various forms such as job orders, contract of service, contractuals and human resources for health (HRH); all of those do not ensure security of tenure,” said National Kidney and Transplant Institute Employees Association-AHW (NKTIEA-AHW) President Edwin Pacheco.
The group also lamented the long working hours of the medical workers.
"We suffer from a huge workload and extended duty hours without corresponding overtime pay. We are deeply concerned because if our working condition worsened, the level and quality of care extended to our patients are affected and may even endanger the patient’s safety," said Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center Employees Union-AHW (JRRMMCEU-AHW) President Cristy Donguines.