đź“·Alliance of Health Workers – National | FB
The administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to inform health workers when they will receive their performance-based bonuses (PBB) for the years 2021 to 2023, a period marked by the height of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country.
On the first day of Holy Week, health workers gathered at the Department of Health (DOH) headquarters in Manila to stage a protest called “Kalbaryo ng Manggagawang Pangkalusugan at Mamamayan,” urging the government to fulfill its financial obligations to them.
The PBB, which typically amounts to 65% of an employee’s monthly salary for each of the specified years, varies among DOH staff.
Workers from various public health facilities emphasized that the accumulated bonuses could provide much-needed relief amid the worsening health and economic crises.
In 2021, the DOH employed approximately 175,000 professionals in national health facilities, with an additional 26,000 contractual workers, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Protesters highlighted that despite their pivotal role in combating the pandemic through immense dedication and sacrifice, promises of salary increases and benefits have been neglected.
The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) called for a living wage of ₱1,200 per day or ₱33,000 per month as the entry-level salary for all health workers in both public and private sectors.
The group also advocated for ₱50,000 entry-level salaries for nurses and other health professionals, regularization of contractual workers, and mass hiring to address severe understaffing in public hospitals. They timed their demonstration to draw attention to the dire conditions in public healthcare facilities, including long patient queues, medicine shortages, and inadequate infrastructure. (ZIA LUNA)
