Many jobless Pinoy nurses work in call centers: PNA
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/02/2008 5:58 PM
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Many jobless Filipino nurses work in call centers while awaiting employment, the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) said Tuesday.
PNA president Leah Primitiva Samaco-Paquiz attributed these problems to a surge in supply of Filipino nurses and salaries in both government and private hospitals that are lower than the pay given to call center workers.
On the oversupply of nurses, Paquiz noted that when the demand for nurses, especially abroad, went up, so did the number of schools offering nursing courses. She said this resulted in oversupply of nursing graduates.
Since there are not enough hospitals to accommodate them all, some nurses were forced to shell out P3,500 to pay the health facilities in order to get their training and the required credentials, she said.
Nurses who are applying for employment abroad need at least two-year work experience in 250-bed hospitals.
Paquiz also lamented that the monthly salary for Filipino nurses only range from P6,000 to P8,000 in private hospitals while the public sector offers P10,000.
She said the low salary is driving the licensed nurses to apply in call centers.
The PNA is now pushing for the implementation of Republic Act 9173 of the Nursing Law that seeks increase the pay scale of nurses working in government hospitals to Salary Grade 15.
A government nurse is supposed to get a monthly salary of P16,093.00 but some are still being paid lower than P10,000, the PNA earlier said.
The PNA's pronouncements backed local recruitment group Federated Association of Manpower Exporters' report showing that a number of licensed nurses are now employed either as call center agents or medical transcriptionists because of higher salaries. -- With a report from Timi Nubla, ABS-CBN
