ANTIQUE – Gov. Paolo Javier on Thursday, October 2, assured that the long-delayed salaries of contract of service (COS) employees at Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital (ASMGH) will be released this month following the approval of a supplemental budget by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Javier held a press conference yesterday morning to address mounting questions over the labor strike staged by several COS workers, mostly nurses, who have been complaining of unpaid wages for nearly four months.
The governor gave his assurance that the provincial government is taking steps to resolve the issue, stressing that the employees’ welfare will not be compromised.
“We will settle this problem so it will not trigger a health crisis in the province,” he said.
He also denied circulating reports that striking workers would lose their jobs, clarifying that the renewal of COS contracts will still depend on employee performance. While he acknowledged the employees’ right to freedom of expression, Javier appealed for future protests to be done outside duty hours to ensure patients’ needs remain prioritized.
On October 1, several COS employees staged a “no work” protest by simultaneously absenting themselves from their posts, forcing regular staff to cover shifts. Some workers warned that their strike could last until October 4 if their salaries remained unsettled.
Hospital staff earlier expressed frustration over repeated delays in wage processing, with the provincial government attributing the problem to incomplete or erroneous submissions of Daily Time Records and accomplishment reports. Workers, however, dismissed these explanations as “going in circles.”
With Javier’s latest assurance, COS employees now await the release of their long-overdue pay, which they hope will ease both financial strain and the brewing tension inside the province’s main public hospital./PN
