The Ministry of Health has assured unemployed nurses that measures have been taken to ensure they are recruited as they demand.
The ministry has also promised that nurses will be paid their allowances in due course of time.
The remarks from the Ministry of Health stem from the series of demonstrations organized jointly by the rotational nurses, the midwifery association, and a group of unemployed nurses over unpaid allowances and unemployment concerns for the past few months now, with the latest one on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, where the protesters defied the heavy rains to express their grievances.
The Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Health, Isaac Offei Baah addressing the media on the concerns being raised by the Graduate Unemployed Nurses and Midwives Association(GUNMA) emphasized that the government is committed to meeting the demands of the health workers.
“Unfortunately, we have gotten to this level, but we are all aware that we cannot employ without clearance from the Ministry of Finance. That also doesn’t mean that we are not working to ensure that we get adequate clearance and clear all our nurses who are not employed.
“We have enough evidence to show that after we received the list from N&MC, we forwarded it to the Minister of Finance. Their leader, who always comes to negotiate on their behalf, can attest to the fact that we have given him copies of evidence to show that the Ministry of Health is committed to ensuring their recruitment and ensuring their posting” he added.
Recently, the Graduate Unemployed Nurses and Midwives Association(GUNMA) registered displeasure with the Ministry of Health for employing illegal means to assign jobs to its members.
The group alleged that the Health Ministry often charges additional fees for posting to be done successfully.
“Some of us are being ejected from our homes because we are not being able to pay our rent. Some of us are sick. Some of us have different financial burdens. We have done a lot of things, but nobody, nothing is coming out of it.
“Any day, any time you go to the ministries, what they tell you is, go soon, it will come. We don’t know how soon this is coming. What is worse in the matter is that some of our colleagues are being posted underground. You ask them and they will tell you I had a colleague who took me GH¢5,000, GH¢6,000, GH¢7,000 to get me this posting,” the General Secretary of the Association, Atta Asante noted in an interview.
Meanwhile, the health workers have threatened to continue with their protests until the government provides financial clearance to secure them permanent jobs.