Crunch meeting over Ridge nurses’ strike today

Nurses at the Ridge Hospital have embarked on an indefinite strike over non-payment of their March salaries.

Reports gathered by TV3 say a systems failure at the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) is to blame.

An attempt, however, to get an overdraft for the over half-a-million nurses has proved futile.

“We have had a series of engagements,” noted Emmanuel Taadi, Administrator of the Hospital.

“Initially, when our attention was brought that they had not been paid for the month, we quickly made a presentation to the Controller and Accountant to find out the issue and also whether it was possible to do a supplementary payment voucher for them.”

But after refusing to accept overdrafts from the Hospital for fear of extra bank charges, nurses have laid down their tools.

A visit by TV3 on Tuesday afternoon saw only in-patients being offered medical care.

But President of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association Kwaku Asante Krobea says a meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 15 to convince the nurses to take the overdrafts.

“Management will also be engaging in a discussion and see whether [the nurse] will indeed take overdraft or they are alright with the situation,” Mr Asante Krobea said regarding the alternative of paying the March salaries together with April’s at the end of the month.

“We want to find out from the nurses whether they are ok with this arrangement.”

He indicated that the meeting will only give preeminence to the nurses’ choice.