Higher pay, regularization needed to address exodus of nurses

MANILA, Philippines — An organization of nurses called on the government to raise their salaries, implement a safe nurse-to-patient ratio, and regularize contractual workers to prevent nurses from seeking employment overseas and leaving the profession.

In a statement Monday evening, Filipino Nurses United renewed its call to increase the entry salary of both public and private nurses to P50,000, hire more healthcare workers and regularize contractual nurses, including job order nurses, Nurse Deployment Program nurses, and contract of service nurses.  

FNU said these measures will address the exodus of nurses, who are hailed as heroes in the country.

According to the organization, over 100,000 nurses in the private sector earn P537 per day in Metro Manila and much lower in areas outside the capital region. Nurses in the government sector, although they have relatively higher pay, suffer from work and patient overload.

A large proportion of government-employed nurses do not have regular positions and benefits, and can be terminated anytime, FNU added.

Greener pastures

FNU stressed that it would be irrational to stop nurses from leaving the country if issues that lead to the exodus of health workers remain unaddressed.

“FNU encourages our nurses to serve our countrymen. However, we support their aspiration to support their dreams for their families, especially if it is a matter of survival from deep economic hardships,” it said.

The organization also criticized the inadequate or delayed provision of benefits, which “adds up to the extreme frustration of nurses who put their lives on the line especially this pandemic.”

“The Department of Health, being the vanguard of health workers as they claim to be, must set an example of ensuring that laws are being enforced and implemented for nurses’ welfare. This could very well support nurses and eventually could help retain many nurses who opted to work in the country,” FNU said.