PRESS STATEMENT
May 12, 2014
Reference: Jossel I Ebesate
AHW National President
Mobile No. 0918 927 6381
Today,
on the occasion of International Nurses’ Day, the Alliance of Health Workers
(AHW) -Philippines express our solidarity with the Filipino nurses and all
nurses in the world who continue to offer their skills and knowledge in service
of the people and stand up for people’s right to health amidst worsening
economic and political crises and attacks on our rights.
As
the national organization of health workers in the Philippines, we in AHW share
the nurses’ dream of a united nurses and health care workers dedicated to
providing services to those who need these most. We are one with the nurses and
the people in our vision of a healthy society where the people and health
workers are empowered and can contribute to health and development.
But
we see that the people’s health situation is worsening as people’s health and
interests are sacrificed in the name of profit and business interests. We witness the suffering and deaths of many
people who are impoverished, could not afford the increasing cost of public and
private health care, and deprived of basic needs while those in power steal
public funds, grab people’s lands and play puppet to foreign dictates.
At
the same time, we ourselves suffer from violation of our rights to jobs, living
wage, benefits, and unionize. For instance, our fellow nurses in Tondo Medical
Center go on duty for 16-32 hours. Nurses in government hospitals get a pay of
P 18,549/month (Salary Grade 11), below the mandated Salary Grade 15 in Nursing Act of 2002 and way below the P30,000/month
minimum cost of living in the NCR. Nurses
in private hospitals and institutions suffer more with P6,000-P10,000 entry level monthly wages, without
hazard pay and no job security.
We
realize that our commitment to serve the people is never easy when the
situation that breeds poverty and ill-health continues to exist. We cannot
fully save lives when lack of personnel, supplies, equipment and facilities,
and poor governance ail our public
health care system. We cannot
provide adequate and quality health services when our ranks need deliverance
from chronic understaffing, contractualization, low and subhuman wages, poor
working conditions, harassments and violation of rights. We cannot dream of
better health for the people as long as the government privatizes public
hospitals and health care, takes away whatever little free services the poor
people receive and threatens to dislocate the poor patients and health workers.
We
see that our duty to serve the people goes beyond learning the most advanced
technologies and equipment in health care or reaching unreachable health
statistics targets. As nurses of the people, we are duty-bound to work with the
people, start where they are, uphold their interests alongside with our
interests, and stand up for rights and justice.
Our duty brings us on the side of our patients and the people against
threats to health and our rights, like privatization, fee for service,
contractualization and streamlining, wage freeze, unreasonable power and water
rates hike. Our duty necessitates that
we struggle together with our patients and the people for free, affordable, and
accessible health care towards a society freed from local and foreign
domination, oppression and exploitation.
This
day and the days and years to come, we call on all Filipino nurses to serve the
people and uphold our rights and people’s right to health, like Florence
Nightingale and our own Filipino nurse-heroes like Nazaria Lagos (1851-1945),
Minda Luz Quesada (1937-1995),
and Mary Vita Jackson, who served the
people and fellow health care workers inspite of risks and hardships. Let us
stand up, unite with fellow health workers and the Filipino people, and
together work for genuine societal change. #
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