A Nurse 1 working in the hospitals of the Negros Occidental provincial government will enjoy a higher pay starting this month.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday that the pay of entry-level nurses has been upgraded from Salary Grade 11 to 15.
The new Department of Budget and Management ruling states that Nurse 1 is now entitled to a salary of P32,053 to P34,801, from a previous wage of P22,316 to P24,391.
Ironically, the salary grade of Nurse 2, Nurse 3 and Nurse 4 of the Provincial Capitol have been downgraded to a lower level.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson admitted that the DBM ruling got a negative reaction from nurses occupying key positions, whose salary grade level have been lowered down.
Lacson said that they have no choice, but to follow the instructions of the DBM.
“For 2021, they will have to sacrifice for the whole year, because our budget is already per DBM instructions to downgrade. So our budget is reflective of the DBM memorandum,” he said.
During the meeting between Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II and the Human Resource Division personnel, it took a while to convince them, Lacson added.
For the whole 2021, those at Nurse 2 will be downgraded to Nurse 1, Nurse 3 to Nurse 2, and Nurse 4 to Nurse 3.
“To differentiate their standing with Nurse 1, they will be given an extra work that they used to do. But we assure them that for 2022, we will create the new positions,” he said.
“Most likely, they will be the ones to be promoted. We just have to convince them to have a little sacrifice,” Lacson added. – GB
