According to Manuel Payao, UERM Employees Union president, the government and employers seem to have no end to the situation of nurses, while about 40% and others resigned from private hospitals and migrated to other countries in 2020.
Various nurses are seeking the help of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) from suffering from low morale and feeling of neglect from their employers and the government.
They intend to initiate a buzz and question the DOLE to look into the issue of low salary and other low hospital payments.
In Payao statement, it said that they will bring the urgent matter to DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma on the date of 21 September for scheduled dialogue.
He also added that the government must address the plight of overworked and underpaid health care workers (HCWs) in the private sector as soon as possible.
However, as per Payao, considerable health care workers have yet to receive their hazard pay and COVID-19 incentives from the government in the last eight months.
Further, they have yet to receive their One COVID Allowance Information System from February 2022 to the present month (OCAIS).
Payao mentioned that their hazard pay, OCAIS, health emergency allowance, other COVID incentives, and quarantine leaves still need to be discussed with management before they go into effect.
The Department of Health announced that the Department of Budget and Management had not released the required funds, but the DBM insisted that the DOH had yet to submit the required audit report.