Public health workers hold protest over hazard pay

MANILA, Philippines - Over 30,000 public health workers nationwide yesterday mounted a black day protest over the delay in the release of their hazard pay.

Employees of the Department of Health (DOH) all wore black to dramatize their protest.

In a statement, the National Department of Health Employees Association (NADEA) said all public health employees are entitled to the benefit given the risks of their jobs.

“We are simply asking the government to continue implementing the law,” NADEA president Fernando Depano said.

Depano noted that the allowance, equivalent to at least five percent to as much as 25 percent of the monthly basic salary of health workers, is mandated under the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers.

However, the DOH issued a memorandum to reduce and limit the release of the allowance subject to the approval of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

As a result, Depano said health workers have been deprived of their benefits for the past six months.

The employees called on Health Secretary Enrique Ona to act immediately on their appeal and order the release of their hazard pay.

“We were told that the management is exerting its best to uphold the law and we expect that they would be true to their word,” Depano said.

He said they received information that the DOH and DBM top officials have already discussed their demand and are set to issue a joint resolution on the matter.