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AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE
CHC nurses get pay hike
After almost 15 years, a pay increase was implemented for all the nurses of the Commonwealth Health Center.
According to CHC director of nursing Leslie Camacho, the nurses were given a 2-percent increase on their annual rates across the board.
The pay hike was implemented from December to the beginning of this year, she said.
The average pay for a registered nurse with experience at the hospital is $33,345 per annum. This rate never moved since the 2001 austerity measures of the CNMI government.
The increase would add just a little over $600 to their total pay for the year.
Camacho said the nurses appreciate the additional earning.
“Any increase at this point is definitely helpful,” she said.
She said the move was a one-time increase for nurses while they wait for the restructuring of the nurses’ salary as was proposed prior to the end of 2015.
“It’s not a huge jump but it’s definitely worth receiving. It’s nice for them to get extra while they wait for the salary restructuring,” Camacho said. “[The chief executive officer] is still working on the restructuring of the salary.”
CHCC CEO Esther Muña earlier said they were looking at increasing the salaries of nurses as well as some laboratory staff last year since these are the areas in the hospital that haven’t gotten raises for a long time.
The restructuring would give nurses salaries instead of per hour wages. No amount has been set yet but it was mentioned that it would make nurses exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Aside from giving direct benefits to nurses, the restructuring is seen as a move that would help the hospital retain much needed staff, be more competitive in hiring personnel, and address overtime pay.
The hospital has been experiencing losses in staffing due to competition in the region. Muña noted that the rate of resignation is faster than the rate of hiring.
“This is something that is necessary, especially because there’s so much competition in this region to basically get the best people to come and work and provide healthcare services,” Muña earlier said.
