Nurses strike today over unpaid salaries

Health services at the major hospitals across the country will be interrupted today [Wednesday] February 3, 2016, as over 7,000 nurses belonging to the Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives, are embarking on an indefinite nationwide strike from today, to demand unpaid salaries.

According to the group, they have had to embark on the action because of the refusal of government to honor its pledge to pay them, a situation that is affecting their livelihood

A National Coordinator of the group, Douglas Adu-Fokuo, believes the strike will compel government to pay what is due them.

He explained that the health ministry had earlier announced that it had issued clearance for over 7,000 nurses adding that the assurance suggests that they will be paid all their accumulated salaries.

“We the Coalition kept quiet on this issue and started a survey to collate data. Surprisingly, only 30 percent of the 7,000 were paid,” he stated.

 Adu-Fokuo  further explained that “we are embarking on this strike because the negotiations we were having with government officials and authorities involved have failed and we can’t continue. Everyday, we are given unfulfilled promises; enough of the promise. This time we want to see action. We want to see the money reflecting in our accounts before we call off the strike, if not we will still be in our homes and we won’t go to work.”

Nurses across the country in October last year resumed work after a week-long strike over the same issue.

The call-off followed assurances that the Controller and Accountant General had released an amount of GHc756, 000 to pay them.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Greater Accra NAGRAT Threatens Strike By End Of September.

Even before an earlier ultimatum issued by the Coalition of Concerned Teachers(CCT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) for government to address their concerns elapses, the Greater Accra Regional Branch of NAGRAT, has given government up to September 30, to pay all allowances owed them or face their wrath.

The warning follows what the group says is a failure on the part of government to meet their demands despite numerous appeals.

'For every year, we are supposed to be given salary increment in our appointment letter, but the government has refused to pay the salary arrears for the 2011/2012 academic year,' Chairman of the Greater Accra NAGRAT, Rene Kwamikorkor said.

He further revealed that the government is yet to pay them the arrears since the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP).

'When the government started the SSPP, they stopped the payment of some allowances; we were told that we should hold on when we are on the Single Spine those payments would be paid to us. They paid part of it, but they never paid the balance'.

Although the Greater Accra NAGRAT head did not clearly state what their next line of action would be, he was confident the necessary action would be taken to press home their demands.

'For the past two to three years, the government has refused to pay the allowances, we will know what we will do when we reach the 30th of September deadline,'he said.

A  strike by the teacher unions is likely to affect academic work at the various Senior High Schools across the country even as newly admitted students are yet to start the academic year.



Read more at: http://www.modernghana.com/news/645623/1/greater-accra-nagrat-threatens-strike-by-end-of-se.html