Pay hike rejection expected to push more Pinoy nurses, teachers to go abroad

KIMBERLY JANE T. TAN, GMANews.TV

MANILA, Philippines - As the proposed bill to double the monthly pay of government nurses and teachers has been shut down by a House panel, a recruitment consultant on Tuesday predicted that more of these Filipino workers would probably consider going abroad.

A number of congressmen, led by Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla, had proposed that the monthly pay of government nurses and teachers be increased by P12,000 to P25,000 to “cope with rising inflation and stave off the departure of nurses and teachers for destinations abroad."

Padilla said that this is the group of state workers who should have been given a 100-percent increase instead of other “high-ranking and high-salaried officials."

The lawmaker was pertaining to the President, Cabinet members, senators, congressmen, and government bureaucrats down to director level who will receive double their salaries starting July 1 this year.

But House Appropriations Committee chairman Quirino Rep. Junie Cua just said that the government’s soaring budget deficit could not afford a huge increase for teachers and nurses numbering to a total of about 600,000.

The committee, however, approved an increase of P 6,500 to be paid within four years thereby increasing the monthly pay to P18,000 by the year 2014.

This, said recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani, is not enough to stop our homegrown nurses and teachers from leaving the country.

“The recent rejection of the pay hike will encourage nurses those with at least two years experience to apply for the thousands of job openings in the Middle East and others will still pursue their dream of “American pie" with US hospitals," he said.

Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed that more than 130,000 nurses left for various countries – mostly in the Middle East, United States, and the United Kingdom – from 1992 to 2007.

Almost 8,000 teachers, on the other hand, left for abroad from 2003 to 2008.

Moreover, Geslani said that the Middle East has been increasing its demand for Filipino nurses especially in Saudi Arabia where there are over 30,000 of them spread all over in military and private hospitals who are getting paid as much as $1,200 to $1,500 with various benefits.

Despite tightening its immigration policies, the US government has been asked to ease up on the entry of foreign nurses due to the inability of local nurses to fill up the growing demand for health care workers.

Likewise, the United Kingdom has recently reopened its door once more for the entry of foreign nurses.

The only challenge, however, is the points-based system and the strict requirement of a grade of 7.0 for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) needed for them to be able to work in the UK as registered nurses.

A total of 39,455 nursing examinees passed the November 2008 Nursing Board Exam while 27,765 passed the June 2008 exam. [See: 39,455 pass nursing board exam; Baguio grad is No. 1]

About 18,800 examinees, on the other hand, passed the November 2008 Licensure Exam for Teachers. [See: LIST OF NEW SECONDARY TEACHERS (November '08)] - GMANews.TV

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