The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike if the President Akufo-Addo-led administration fail to settle their unpaid allowances for nurses and midwives on national service across the country.
They have given the government up to Thursday, September 30, 2021 to settle their unpaid salaries.
The GRNMA alleged that they have not been paid since February 2021.
Addressing the media, Programs and Project Secretary for the Association, Nana Agyei Sikapa demanded that the nurses and midwives be paid their corresponding allowances by the end of this month, else, they will lay down their working tools.
“First of all is training allowance, we all know that in 2016 President Akufo-Addo promised that he will reinstate the allowance policy which the previous government cancelled whenever he is voted into power.
“And when he came to power, he was paying it but has retarded in its payment so this has brought hardship because some of our colleagues never received a penny of the said allowance and so as the current students have not.
“There are other students too who could not receive their allowance before their completion, with some been owed 2, 3, and 10 months or more,” Nana Adjei Sikapa observed.
He stressed that some rotational nurses started their national service in February 2021 but have not been paid for the past eight months while others are without recruitment since 2019 after completion of school.
“So what we are telling the president is that are giving him and his government up today September 30, to settle all the debts else we will lay our tools down and embark on a strike on October 1, 2021”, he warned.
The association described the situation as worrying and unfair since most rotational nurses and midwives ‘do the hardwork at the hospitals’ but still have their salaries locked up.
