SALEM — Employees at Salem Hospital will see a bump in their paychecks this week.
The hospital announced Monday that it is raising its minimum wage for workers, both at the hospital and North Shore Physicians Group, to $15 per hour; the pay increase was made effective Sunday.
According to a statement, the hospital is reaching this goal well ahead of the 2023 deadline set by the state for raising the minimum wage to $15. The previous minimum was $13.50.
The pay increase impacts approximately 1,000 employees in the Salem Hospital family, said spokeswoman Laura Fleming. The system employs 4,000 altogether.
“As a responsible employer, we continually evaluate our wage and benefit programs to ensure that our employees are compensated fairly for the vital work they do,” said hospital President Dr. David J. Roberts. “After witnessing the dedication and courage of our exceptional staff throughout the COVID pandemic, we take this responsibility more seriously than ever.”
NSPG and Salem Hospital employees impacted by the wage increase work in roles such as patient service, food service, environmental services and transport. The increase in the minimum wage is part of an organization-wide review of Salem Hospital’s wage and benefit programs.
In addition to raising the wage floor to $15, the hospital recently increased wages for more than 800 Salem Hospital nurses and is continuing to evaluate additional job categories to ensure it remains fair and competitive in wage and benefit compensation, Roberts said.
“Every one of our employees is critical to providing patients and their families with an exceptional experience and ensuring that our organization delivers on its vital mission,” said Roberts. “This is an important step to show how important they are to us.”
Fleming said raising the minimum wage does create some “compression” issues and that “we are addressing those as well.
“When we cite that approximately 1,000 employees are impacted by the wage increase, we are including in that number those whose pay also needs to be adjusted to maintain fairness under the new minimum wage. It will not apply to all other employees but a significant number in any event.”
Salem Hospital is a member of Mass General Brigham — formerly Partners Healthcare — a partnership founded Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
