Photo: Financial Express

Health workers union in government and private health hospitals are seriously considering a medical lockdown because of lack of benefits and unequal attention compared to uniformed personnel accorded by the national leadership.

As they risked their lives caring for Covid patients, their plight was seen as an afterthought by the health and labor department and of the legislative people.

Both the public and private health institutions workers are suffering from delayed benefits, low salaries and have seen their status as not a priority of government.

For one, the priority measures of the legislative branch did not include the institutionalization of wages in private hospital and health care systems nor the labor department crafted a recommendatory law for passage as an urgent and priority measure a way to give credit to the sacrifices of the sector.

Government health works in hospitals received meager benefits for hazard pay often delayed which is lamentable for the billions appropriated in the Bayanihan law.

If the sectors make true of its medical lockdown the spike of covid cases which has risen to 13,000 daily and the over capacity of hospitals will crash the pandemic response of the country which has overwhelmed health facilities.

Patients lined for admission and dying. DOH initiated talks with the sector came to late they say for they could have done it earlier not this time that another medical doctor died to COVID-19 virus.

Private health workers in the private sector are seriously considering the medical lockdown according to Donnel John Siason of UST Hospital Union. He said that their issues are legitimate from life insurance, paid residence, free transportation, food, hazard pay and medical allowance was not included in the Bayanihan 2 law.

Medical technicians are not even included in the list of medical frontliners entitled to benefits.

The failure of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to settle on time the expenses of private hospitals in COVID related services has depleted the operational funds leaving certain benefits due to employees be cancelled.

PHIC owes St. Luke Hospital 2 billion as reimbursable which until now remain unsettled.

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