Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) — Amid the temporary overseas deployment ban for health workers in the country, a survey found that nearly all Metro Manila residents demand better pay for medical frontliners.
Doctors in the country receive a monthly income of around ₱20,000 to ₱35,000, while registered nurses receive an average of ₱8,000 to ₱13,500.
A striking 97.6% of the 1,000 residents who participated in the online survey approved of “providing frontline medical service people (doctors, nurses, etc.) with additional pay.” This was reported on Friday by political consultancy firm Publicus Asia, which conducted the study between April 2-6.
The results came amid reports of the government temporarily restricting health workers from leaving the country to work abroad until the national state of emergency is lifted.
“It is of paramount national interest to ensure that the country shall continue to have, sustain the supply of, and prepare sufficient health personnel to meet any further contingencies, especially to replace, substitute or reinforce existing workforce currently employed, deployed or utilized locally,” read a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) order signed on April 2.
With the rising number of local COVID-19 infections and deaths, health workers have been under severe strain aggravated by the reported lack of appropriate protective equipment.
The country has so far recorded 4,195 people infected with coronavirus, including 221 fatalities. Of this number, over 200 are doctors and nurses, the health department earlier confirmed.
In response to the ongoing pandemic, Western countries have been aggressively recruiting healthcare workers from the Philippines and other countries by offering expedited visa processes and significantly more generous salaries and benefits, Publicus Asia said.
Based on data from the Department of Labor and Employment, the pay scale abroad is substantially higher than local rates.
Meanwhile, according to DOLE, the average monthly pay for doctors in the United States is between $15,000 to $20,000. For nurses, the US market offers an average salary of $3,800 per month, the United Kingdom with £1,662, and Canada with $4,097 for entry level.
The consultancy firm said that the approval for better pay for medical workers in the country got the highest rating among the nine existing or proposed policies tested in the survey.
Other policies which garnered over 90% approval rating include mass testing to identify all persons with COVID-19, providing small-business owners with financial support, and provision of government-controlled transportation services during the quarantine.
Grant hazard pay to frontliners
Along with the heightened demands for those battling the crisis, the Nagkaisa labor coalition also called for hazard pay for all COVID-19 frontliners.
The labor group urged the government and private employers to pay an additional ₱500 a day or 25 percent of monthly salary—”whichever is higher”—to those at the forefront of efforts against the outbreak.
Nagkaisa also called for the inclusion of other essential workers who continue to report to work amid the pandemic, including “food workers, logistical workers, utility workers, and local government unit workers.”
On April 6, President Rodrigo Duterte signed an order granting a one-time special risk allowance to public health workers exposed to health risks in light of COVID-19. The allowance is equivalent to a maximum of 25 percent monthly basic pay.
Publicus Asia likewise echoed the demand for better pay of health workers, saying they should not be forced “to work for inferior pay in dangerous working conditions, all in the name of patriotism.”
“The pay of Filipino healthcare frontliners should be commensurate to the importance of their work in our collective fight against COVID-19,” the firm’s executive director Aureli Sinsuat said.
