Rotational nurses doing their national service around the country are protesting the government’s delay in paying them their monthly allowances adding that the government is making a move to reduce their due stipends.
The members numbering about 8000 said they are owed up to seven months of arrears with government varying their payment grade, reducing the amount due them.
The affected nurses are currently gathered at the centre for National Culture in Kumasi to demand answers from the government.
In an interview, one of the personnel Samson Nuhu outlined their concerns stating “there are a number of concerns actually. First, being the non-payment of our service allowances since we started rotation in April. Since we started work we have not been paid a dime by the government and it is really killing us because we don’t know how they expect us to fend for ourselves.
Personally I came from the Volta region to this place and I have to look for accommodation, feeding, transport etc”.
He explained “the other issue is the fact that on the forms we filled for the payment of the allowances, we were on the 12 L scale using the 2019 single spine salary structure and now somehow, magically, they are just changing it to AH1 which is supposed to give us an amount less than what we are due.”
“We want our due pay, we don’t want anything less than what we have signed for. Looking at the rate of inflation in the country, how do they even expect us to make ends meet?” he said
He added that there are rumors that government wants to pay arrears owed them in installment but they are not wiling to accept that as they have worked satisfactorily.
“It’s becoming a trend when we continue to keep quiet because previous rotation nurses were treated in that manner and we wouldn’t like for this to continue for those behind us,” he ended.