Nars Ng Bayan assails the high-handed and grossly irregular termination of 46 registered nurses at the Taguig Pateros District Hospital last August by the Taguig city government on subjective and contestable charges. They were sacked after “liking” a Facebook comment of a doctor from the same hospital, which criticized the hospital’s purchase of expensive maintenance equipment over more priority needs. The local government is withholding the issuance of the certificate of employment to 16 of the 46 nurses on the pretext that this is not “included in their contract.” The city mayor also insists that these nurses were “contractuals” and so their termination is “legal,” notwithstanding the number of years—from at least one to five years—they have served.
The arbitrary, unilateral decision of the Taguig local government to dismiss the nurses is a gross violation of the basic human right of the nurses to due process, regardless of their employment status. This case is a glaring example of the plight of many of our professional nurses who are forced to work as “contractuals” with no security of tenure, no protection from abuses, no guarantee of benefits accruing from regular employment. Labor contractualization, now the de facto norm of hiring, has worsened the exploitative and unfair labor conditions our professional nurses endure. This case shows clearly that our nurses get little or no protection at all even from the government.
The Taguig nurses bewail the lack of help from the Department of Health, Civil Service Commission and Department of Labor and Employment. This made them decide to bring their case to media. But what could they have expected from the DOH, which is a purveyor of labor contractualization through the RN HEALS program, by which young eligible nurses are recruited as “trainees” receiving an allowance of P8,000-P10,000 monthly, without job security, legal protection and benefits.
NARS ng Bayan supports the Taguig nurses’ rightful assertion that they be issued their certificates of employment for the duration of their work in the hospital. As a professional nurses’ association, we denounce their unjust termination without due process and demand that the government provide them humane and decent employment and development opportunities, as it is its responsibility to promote and protect the rights of important human resources that provide critical social services such as health care. The government should put a stop to labor contractualization; it violates professional and labor rights which include just compensation and job security.
Upholding the dignity of our noble profession, we will continue to courageously fight for our rights. We owe it not only to ourselves to continually strive to live up to the nursing ideals of service but also to our people whom we can best serve, under an environment where justice and respect for human dignity reign.—ELEANOR M. NOLASCO, RN, founding president, nars.philippines@yahoo.com