Tensions are rising within Ghana’s labour front as nurses, midwives, and other professional bodies express disappointment over omissions in the supplementary budget presented by the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson to Parliament on July 24.
Over 125,000 nurses and midwives across the country are angered by what they describe as a betrayal by government, after their long-awaited conditions of service were left out of the budget.
When Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson presented the supplementary budget, many nurses and midwives were expecting to see their conditions of service formally captured.
However, to their surprise, the Minister announced that the issue was not included because, according to him, his team failed to brief him adequately.
This explanation does not sit well with members of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), who say they feel misled by government.
Earlier assurances from the Ministry of Health and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission had convinced the nurses to hold off any protest action, with the promise that their demands would be addressed in this budget.
Now, many fear the exclusion signals yet another delay, sparking discontent across various health facilities nationwide.
“I the minister is saying he has not been briefed, he will be properly briefed, and we are relying on our employer which is the Ministry of Health to do the needful,” President of GRNMA Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo said in an interview with 3news on July 25.
In a bid to prevent unrest, Mrs Ofori-Ampofo, is urging calm among members, assuring them that leadership is actively engaging government.
“There is a sense of having been lied to. Have we been deceived or it is the Minister of Finance getting us to agitate again or what? That is the sense we get on our platforms, but I will use this opportunity to calm them down and nothing untoward is going to happen as far as I am concerned,” she said.
According to the GRNMA President, “we have trust in the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission that led the previous negotiations, we have trust in our employer which is the Ministry of Health, we will wait to see what happens.”
She insists the Association will not relent in pushing for what is due their members.
As the situation unfolds, all eyes are now on government to act swiftly and avoid further agitation on the already tensed labour front.
