Alliance of Health Workers spearheaded the HCWs lunch break and noise barrage protest in front of Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. These HCWs worked from different Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation hospitals.
The HCWs demanded for the immediate release of One COVID Allowance (OCA) as well as the Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) from Department of Health and Department of Budget Management. However, such a demand that they registered since last year but remained fallen on “deaf and heartless” with the Duterte administration and now with yet another Marcos Jr. in presidential post.
AHW lambasted the scheme of DOH by which OCA is suddenly referred as part of the HEA since July this year, while many of the HCWs have yet to receive their benefits amounting to 3,000 to 9,000 depending on the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
The HCWs added that their monthly salary could hardly compensate for their daily expenses in terms of food, transportation, utilities, and even the education of their children. With this, they challenged the legislators and Marcos Jr. administration to heed their call for salary increase, fund and provide their ong overdue benefits, job security against contractual labor as well as humane and safe working conditions.
Below are their further calls as follow:
1. Release One COVID Allowance (OCA) from January-June 2022 to all health workers.
2. Release COVID compensation sickness benefit to all health workers from the year 2021 up to present.
3. Release retroactive Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) from July-December 2021.
4. Release Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) from July-August 2022.
5. Fund Health Emergency Allowance!
6. Release COVID-19 compensation sickness benefit now!
7. Increase the monthly salary of SG1 health workers to P33, 671.00 per month.
8. Mass hiring of regular health workers now!
9. Increase the health budget to 10% of the GDP.
10. PROVIDE continuous COVID-19 benefits and compensation to all health workers during pandemic or state of national emergency.
 did not mind an empty stomach on a lunch break as though they have long been enduring state negligence in terms of their long overdue benefits and allowance.){kind=link}