Gordon asks Duterte to include private teachers, nurses in proposed salary increase

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Richard Gordon asked President Rodrigo Duterte to also include teachers and nurses from private institutions in their planned salary increase.

Senator Richard Gordon wants to include private nurses, teachers in the new SSL
Senator Richard Gordon wants to include private nurses, teachers in the new SSL | Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Sen. Richard Gordon

Gordon issued a statement on Tuesday that it would be best to not only prioritize workers from the public sector but also those in the private in the government's plan of a wage hike.

The senator said, “We thank the President for supporting our call to increase the salary of our teachers and nurses. But we need to make sure that those working in both government and private institutions will benefit from this.”

“Hindi natin maaring pabayaan ang ating mga guro at nurse na nagtratrabaho sa mga pribadong institusyon,” he added.

In a separate statement, Gordon also gave a reminder on how important the role of nurses in the society. He said they will continue their fight to make sure nurses receive the compensation due to them under the law.

Gordon lamented how nursing students spend as much as P500,000 for their tuition up until they pass the Nursing Licensure Exam only to receive meager salaries once employed. He said changes should be made to grant them more opportunities.

The senator proposed, “The Department of Health (DOH) and the Local Government Unit (LGU) must come up with a program to hire more nurses with just compensation, especially in rural areas where there is hardly any access to health care.”

During Duterte’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), public school teachers and nurses became hopeful after the President mentioned that a new Salary Standardization Law (SSL) will be passed to answer their calls for salary increase.

READ: Duterte vows approval of law increasing salaries of teachers, nurses

The President even addressed the public school teachers that their request will soon be answered with the passing of the new law. Duterte assured, “To the teachers who toil and work tirelessly to educate our young, kasali na po dito ‘yung hinihingi niyo. Hindi masyadong malaki pero it will tide you over."

— Sally, The Summit Express



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