MANILA--A group of health workers demanding for an increase in salaries and end of contractualization on Tuesday called on the government to also include them in the list of priority and treat them equally as partners for promoting the health of Filipinos.
Comparing themselves to soldiers and police officers who were given an increase in salaries by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, members of the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) said that it is about time that the government be sensitive and hear their plea.
"Pangulong Duterte sana maintindihan mo na kami na mga manggagawa ng kalusugan ay mga sundalo rin na kung saan ang kalaban namin ay ang mga sakit na pumapatay sa mga Pilipino at mga kababayan natin sa Pilipinas. Sana lang mapag-isip-isip mo na kami rin ay dapat mong mapagtuunan ng pansin na itaas ang sahod sapagkat ang mga sundalo pinoprotektahan mo,na poprotekta naman sa iyo, kami naman gagamutin naman namin sila kapag may karamdaman. Sana ang gobyerno natin ay maging fair (President Duterte, we hope you will understand that we, the healthworkers are also like soldiers who fight against illnesses that kill our countrymen. We hope you will also think that we also need be heard just like the soldiers who protect you, we also treat them when they are sick. We hope that this government will be fair)," Eleazar Sobinsky, AHW public relations officers, told a press briefing in Quezon City.
Citing the situation of healthworkers receiving a gross income of PHP10,000 a month, Sobinsky said the amount is not enough for them to live decently.
He said underpaid workers like them rendering duties should also receive the proper remuneration that they deserve to continue fulfil the tasks.
He noted that just like other workers, the health workers are also suffering from the daily grind of poverty as prices of basic commodities which are affected by the implementation of the tax reform law.
For his part, AHW vice president Edgardo Damicog said the government should begin to see the truth about the health system in the country that treats the delivery of healthcare as a form of business.
"Considering that health workers played a vital role for the healthcare system, we deserve the recognition of the state through just compensation, benefits and work safety and security," Damicog said.
The group is demanding a PHP16,000 pay hike, noting that the basic pay for entry positions, like nurses in public hospitals, is at around PHP30,000.(PNA)
