Lee Castro, president of the CNMI Nurses Association, said some nurses told him they’re leaving because of unfair treatment at CHC, the commonwealth’s only hospital.
He said there’s a big “discrimination” in the salaries and benefits received by local nurses compared to those hired from off-island.
The gap in salary and benefits, Castro said, ranges from $17,000 to $20,000.
This is a morale issue affecting local nurses, especially those who have the same job descriptions as their off-island counterparts, he said.
Local nurses, particularly those who graduated from Northern Marianas College, get a little more than $23,000.
But those hired from off-island have salaries that are more than $10,000 higher.
Castro said local nurses were told those who get higher salaries have a bachelor’s degree.
But written policy from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Castro said, clearly indicates a $2,000 difference between a bachelor’s degree holder and an associate nurse graduate.
If experience is included, a $3,000 gap is acceptable, he added.
“I’m not a lawyer but that policy is very clear — $17,000 to $20,000 gap is too much,” Castro said.
He said last year, a local nurse with CHC’s labor and delivery resigned because of the pay issue.
A private clinic offered the nurse salary two times higher than what CHC gave her, Castro said.
The EEOC, he added, told local nurses they have the right to file a lawsuit because they have a “strong case.”
Roca Sablan, a former CHC labor and delivery nurse, said the salary gap mattered to her.
“We’re working really hard but we’re not being complimented by most of our higher ups. It brings down our morale,” she said.
Sablan said this “unfair treatment” made her decide to move to a private clinic.
Now, she said she feels “very happy and stress free.”
Laurie Boyer, a CHC pediatric ward nurse, said receiving a lower salary compared to their off-island counterparts is unfair because “we do the same job, have the same duties and responsibilities.”
