The Union of Professional Nurse and Midwives has threatened to embark on a strike action if the government fails to give them a 20% cost of living allowance (COLA).
The group is the latest to join other public sector workers, including teachers and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), to demand COLA.
The group and its members have since associated themselves with the ongoing strike jointly declared by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Tertiary Education Workers’ Union (TEWU), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union over the COLA.
According to them, the government appears to be dragging its feet with regard to ensuring their welfare.
“In 2014, a cost of living allowances (COLA) of 10% of Public Sector Workers Basic salary was paid to workers to cushion us when things got tough due to high cost of living. In 2022, we find ourselves in a similar economic situation, and we expected nothing short of a similar stop-gap measure to cushion the many nurses and midwives in the country,” the statement said.
“We have thus taken it upon ourselves as the second-largest union within the nursing and midwifery profession to appeal to the government to as a matter of urgency take a critical look at the matter. The earlier we begin to think about relooking at the conditions in which nurses and midwives work in Ghana, the better it will be for our health system as nurses and midwives play a major role in the health delivery system,” they added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana