Probe sought on NMMC unreleased bonus

MISAMIS Oriental Board Member Gerardo "Boboy" Sabal is urging the Department of Health (DOH) to look into the concern of some employees at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) over their unreleased Collective Negotiating Allowance (CNA) incentive.

Sabal said he has heard about this issue and is worried that the internal conflict between the management and the employees might affect the delivery of services at the hospital.

"We have no jurisdiction over the NMMC but if the employees want my help, then we will respond. The employees' bonuses are their right, the management need to explain why it hasn't been released yet," Sabal said.

A source who requested anonymity told SunStar CDO that NMMC's 1,200 regular employees were supposed to receive their share of the CNA in December. But as of Thursday, January 10, they have not received even a single centavo.

The source said that they have been receiving the CNA incentive worth P25,000 each.

But starting last year, the incentive has decreased to P5,000 per employees and in 2018, word spread that employees will only be receiving P3,500 each.

The source said that the decrease is due to the decline in the hospital's savings, from which the CNA incentive will be sourced.

Sources said the savings reached P4.8 million in 2018.

CNAs are given to employees in recognition of their efforts in accomplishing performance targets at lesser costs. It is an agreement between the labor union of the organization and the management.

A signature campaign is now circulating at the hospital to demand for an answer and clarification from the hospital management about their concerns.

SunStar has tried to reach the Chief of Hospital Dr. Jose Chan but he was not available.

Sabal, for his part, said he plans to call for a meeting with the hospital management and the DOH to shed light on the matter.