How salaries change among health professions in Huila, 2013

Abstract

Introduction. According to the Constitutional Court, remuneration for services rendered is a worker's basic right. Salaries should be appropriate for the effort, preparation, experience, knowledge and time commitment put in. Objective. Evaluate the salaries of health professions. Method. A descriptive, quantitative and transversal study, using a sample of 1060 health professionals in six health institutions in Huila. Information was collected using a survey administered by the researchers, processed using Excel 2013 and results were analysed statistically and descriptively. Results. 60% of the professionals were in the most comprehensive hospital (providing the widest range of care and treatment options); a similar percentage belong to the discipline which has historically been the most important in the health system. The salaries are low, something which is accentuated among women. There are no standardised criteria to determine remuneration. 32.8% have a postgraduate qualification, of whom 91.6% belong to the discipline with greater economic recognition. The monthly salary of the health professionals varied from $2.635.135 to $11.800.000, an average of $5.247.823, median of $5.638.000 and mode of $5.368.000. 27.5% have a permanent contract, 14% have temporary contracts and 58.5% are contracted through unions. Conclusion. There is discrimination and inequality in the distribution and remuneration in health professions. This goes against the call for development of human talent formulated in the Toronto Call to Action. Recommendation. Manage the approval of a balanced and fair salary scale for health care professions.