The National Executive Board (NEB) of Ghana Nurse-Midwife Trainees’ Association (GNMTA) has called on the government to immediately pay trainee nurses who have had to endure eight months without their allowances.
In a statement, the Ghana Nurse-Midwife Trainees’ Association said the nurses need the monies for their upkeep and their fees adding that the allowances which have been halted since June 2020 has made life very difficult for the trainees.
“We wish to establish with conspicuity for the government to recognize that, most parents and guardians appreciating that the Government is paying Trainee Nurses and Midwives allowances have stopped paying fees and giving their wards’ money for upkeep with the notion that they receive allowances on monthly basis.
“One can only imagine what these students have been through for all these eight months without the allowances. Not only that, Trainee Nurses and Midwives who were undergoing Training and currently undergoing their one-year mandatory National Service are also owed month arrears which nothing has been done about it.”
The Akufo-Addo led government restored allowances meant for trainees after it was cancelled by the Mahama government in 2015. Since the restoration of the allowances to trainees nurses, the government has struggled to consistently pay the trainees.
Attached is the full statement by the GNMTA
The National Executive Board (NEB) of Ghana Nurse-Midwife Trainees’ Association (GNMTA) has noted with apt attention the inactive posture of the government of the Republic of Ghana with regards to the plight of the over 92 Nursing training colleges with a population of over 80000 Trainee Nurses and Midwives across the length and breadth of this country in the payment of its allowances.
We acknowledge the efforts made by this current Government to ease the sufferings the trainee nurses and midwives were subjected to between the years 2015-2016 due to the cancellation of the allowance by the erstwhile Government.
Notwithstanding, as a Government that has urged its people to be citizens and not spectators, we wish to use this role of us being citizens to crave the indulgence of the President, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the Government of the day on the halt in the payment of the trainee’s allowances since June 2020 which has posed a lot of threats and difficulties to the trainee nurses and midwife.
Similarly to note, some students are been owned arrears for over thirteen (13) months.
We wish to establish with conspicuity for the government to recognize that, most parents and guardians appreciating that the Government is paying Trainee Nurses and Midwives allowances have stopped paying fees and giving their wards’ money for upkeep with the notion that they receive allowances on monthly basis.
One can only imagine what these students have been through for all these eight months without the allowances. Not only that, Trainee Nurses and Midwives who were undergoing Training and currently undergoing their one-year mandatory National Service are also owed month arrears which nothing has been done about it.
Moreover, the Ministry of Health in 2019 came out with a directive that students upon reporting to school are expected to pay 60% of total fees before they will be allowed to attend lectures.
It is an undeniable fact that students not only from poor backgrounds depend solely on the allowances to pay their fees but due to the failure of the government to do so in that regard, students are psychologically traumatized by the humiliation of just not being in the capacity to pay their tuition bills coupled with the brunt of missing lecture hours.
All efforts to get the Ministry of Health to pay these allowances have been fruitless upon meetings and calls to their outfit. We are therefore using this medium to bemoan to the Ghanaian populace and Government as well as our parents, guardians to know exactly that allowances for trainees has come to a stalemate since June 2020 and further call on the Government to come clear on this issue on what has necessitated all this delay.
To this end, we wish to sternly give the Government an ultimatum of this week with effect from 26th April, 2020 to get these allowances paid or reach a fruitful consensus with the various heads of Health Training Institutions to be considerate enough to reach flexible terms to allow students pay fees and as well allow students to sit for the end-of-semester exams.
We GNMTA has always believed in the use of dialogue and non-violence means to achieve results but all struggles to resolve this issue once and for all using dialogue has failed which necessitated this Press Release.
