Unemployed nurses opt for posting before pay

Members of the Coalition of Unemployed Diploma Nurses and Midwives want to be posted before any contract is discussed as regards finances.

Most of the members have been without stations since August, 2016 when they completed their national service. This batch of nurses and midwives completed their training in February, 2015.

Leadership of the Coalition on Monday, February 6, barely two years after training, met the new Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, to register their grievances.

But the Minister is said to have asked the unemployed nurses to wait till after the 2017 budget is presented in March. Another option tabled, 3news.com gathers, is for them to be posted as per the minister’s negotiations with stakeholders before the budget is read.

Speaking to TV3’s Wendy Laryea on News 360 on Monday, Mathias Ansah, Spokesperson of the Coalition, said: “[Government] should have pity on us and post us”. He said given the longevity of their stay home, they would opt for posting before the budget is read.

Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health Tony Goodman assured that “we will employ them very soon”. According to him, financial clearance has already been given to about 8,634 nurses and the remainder will be taken care of soon, he told Wendy Laryea.

He indicated that the new minister is committed to having all nurses posted but he is going through all the documents available to make the process possible. “There is no issue,” Mr Goodman emphasized on Monday.