Senator Cynthia Villar recently filed a bill to set a minimum wage for nurses serving in private hospitals in the Philippines.
Villar filed Senate Bill No. 1837, which would direct the National Wages Productivity Commission (NWPC) of the Department of Labor and Employment to establish a minimum wage for nurses working in private hospitals.
The bill said the following factors must be considered in setting the minimum wage:
- the cost of living;
- wage established for those in the public sector;
- the location and bed capacity of the private hospital; and
- the fair return of the employer’s capital
According to the DOLE’s Bureau of Local employment, the salary of a registered nurse in an entry-level position is around P8,000 to P13,500 per month, Villar said.
Meanwhile, experienced registered nurses in the country earn around P40,381 monthly. Nurses in Vietnam make P62,200 per month while those in Indonesia get P79,000 per month. Villar added Thailand nurses have a P83,000 monthly salary while those in Singapore get as much as P236,400 per month.
Villar also noted the recent Salary Grade 15 or equivalent to P32,503 upgrade only applies to nurses working in public hospitals.
Minimum wage for nurses in private hospitals
“The nurses working in private hospitals continue to receive meager salaries. While they are burdened with long hours of work and constantly exposed to health risks, the low salaries they receive do not reasonably and fairly recompense them,” she said.
“It is time to show our gratitude to our nurses by making their salaries and benefits not only commensurate to the services they provide but also comparable to those of government nurses,” she added.
The bill would require a public hearing among stakeholders to discuss the minimum wage for private nurses.
Private hospitals that would not follow the proposed law shall pay a fine of not less than P100,000 and not more than P1 million for each violation.
“Any nurse who is a victim of a violation of this Act shall be entitled to back wages and full payment of unpaid benefits, as well as to the refund of attorney’s fees that may have been incurred in enforcing the concerned nurse’s claim under this Act,” the bill read.