REP. FREDERICK W. SIAO
Lone District of Iligan City
Chair, Committee on Civil Service & Professional Regulation
Author, HB 6187 – COVID-19-related anti-discrimination bill
http://www.freddiesiao.com/ Twitter: @freddiesiao 0917-729-2437
NURSES’ COOPERATIVES SEEN AS WAYS TO AUGMENT WAGES, BENEFITS
Rep. Frederick W. Siao, chairman of the House Committee on Civil Service and Profession Regulation, has prodded the technical working group consolidating 10 bills on nursing to include provisions on nurses’ cooperatives as ways to augment incomes of the health professionals.
“Part of the solution I am suggesting to my colleagues in the House is cooperatives. Cooperatives have proven effective at addressing economic issues and improve the lives of cooperative members. I believe there should be at least one nurses’ cooperative in every hospital, in every city, and in every town,” Siao said.
Through the nurses coops, Siao said, “economic support can be directly provided to the cooperatives by the government, the business sector, foundations, and NGOs both local and foreign.”
Iligan City’s congressman also said microfinance, grants and concessional loans from local and foreign sources can also be channeled through the nurses’ cooperatives.
“Grants and concessional loans have been secured to fund COVID-19 programs and projects. Perhaps the DOF and DOH can do the same for nurses cooperatives by helping the cooperatives secure the grants and concessional loans they need,” Siao said. (END)
