Philippine Nurses to work 2 years before leaving the country?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
SPECIAL REPORT : OFW DEPLOYMENT ISSUES
Contrary to Malacañang claims most OFWs are still laborers
Arroyo bill to detain professionals attacked
The Philippine Nurses Association's President Dr. Leah Samaco Paquiz on Saturday expressed concern over the bill filed by Rep. Ignacio Arroyo to keep professionals, including nurses and doctors, from leaving for jobs abroad without first working in the Philippines for at least two years.
Did he file the bill because of government claims that Filipino professionals have become the bigger component of OFW deployments? If so, then he is wrong. The bigger segment is still laborers and unskilled workers.
The Philippine Medical Association expressed opposition but its vice-president did not elaborate because the PMA still had to actually learn from Arroyo what he really wants and what his proposed bill says.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) opposed Arroyo's House Bill 4580.
"We consider the bill absolutely unfair and highly discriminatory, because it singles out registered professionals," said former senator and TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera.
Negros Oriental's Rep. Arroyo, the President's brother-in-law, authored the bill with the aim of discouraging Filipino professionals from leaving the country. He expressed concern that the health and education sector may end up not having enough teachers and professionals if RP graduates continue to go abroad to work for high pay.
His proposed law covers doctors, nurses, pharmacists, midwives, medical technologists, physical therapists, engineers, teachers, sailors, accountants, interior designers, nutritionists and criminologists, librarians, guidance counselors and master plumbers. These are all in the Professional Regulatory Commission's category of "registered professionals."
Herrera questioned the government's authority to restrain professionals from leaving.
He was joined by human rights lawyers interviewed by The Manila Times. They told us people couldn't be prevented to leave the country if they want to.
Herrera has submitted his, the TUCP's, position paper to the House and the Senate, petitioning the House Committee on Labor and Employment to reject Arroyo's bill.
"We have a huge glut of professionals in many sectors. In the case of nurses, the main reason they are leaving the country is because wages here are grossly inadequate. And the pay is meager, precisely because of the massive surplus of nurses. This is the law of supply and demand at work," Herrera said.
The TUCP official said preventing nurses from leaving the country would further create a huge surplus and lower their wages to a minimum.
Herrera said that nurses comprise the biggest group of professionals leaving the country. Every year, more than 21,000 Filipino nurses seek employment in the US alone.
He added that the Philippines has been producing more than 132,000 nurses every year.
Nurses' salary increase law
Dr. Paquis explained that nurses, doctors and other professionals would not leave the country is they were paid properly.
Since 2002, she said, because of, Republic Act 9173, also known as the Nursing Act of 2002, the salaries of nurses should have been not lower than the government's salary grade 15. "This is clear in Section 32 that 'in order to enhance the general welfare, commitment to service and professionalism of nurses, the minimum base pay of nurses working in public health institution shall not be lower than salary grade 15,' " she pointed out.
"It has been six years since the law was enacted. It has not been implemented," she complained.
"Under the law, a nurse in the government should be receiving a monthly salary of P16,093, but many nurses are still receiving way below this legal monthly salary. Some are receiving less than P10,000 monthly income. How do we expect these nurses to remain in government service with this kind of salary?" asked Paquiz. She points out that while salary is not the only reason why nurses serve, she recognizes that the foreign employment conditions are much better than here."
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http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/aug/24/yehey/top_stories/20080824top1.html
Lyfer, LPN
132 Posts
correct.