The coalition of Concerned Nurses and midwife trainees has told the government to prioritise the payment of their areas.
The coalition stated that approximately 30% of trainees have never received any allowances at all.
After completion, the trainees do not stand any chance of receiving their arrears owed by the government as there is no arrangement put in place for that since the restoration of allowance evidenced by many trainees who completed without allowance and have never been paid their arrears since, they said in a statement.
Their concern comes after Vice President Dr Mahaud Bawumia said that the government would within the next seventy-two hours transfer over GHC177 million to pay allowances to nursing trainees.
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia announced this to mark this year’s International Nurses Day in Accra on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
Dr Bawumia recalled the numerous petitions from trainee nurses about delays in the payment of their allowances.
He said, these trainee nurses complain that the delay has affected their practicals. He therefore announced that the Controller and Accountant-General has been directed to effect the payment.
“I wish to assure the nursing trainees that by Thursday this week, the Controller [And Accountant-General] is transferring an amount of GHC177 million to the Ministry of Health to pay the trainee allowances,” Dr Bawumia assured.
He also spoke about financial clearance for unposted nurses and other initiatives such as vehicle waivers for workers.
” I have conferred with the Ministry of Finance, steps are being taken to clear the unemployed nurses and by August that will be done, notwithstanding the backlog, our government has provided the highest recruitment,” the Vice President stressed.
But a statement the coalition of Concerned Nurses and midwife trainees said “The coalition of Concerned Nurses and midwife trainees have taken note of a recent statement made by H.E Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President and Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, NPP, regarding the restoration and consistent payment of Trainees’ Allowances.
While the Vice President has touted the government’s commitment to restoring and maintaining trainees’ allowances, the reality on the ground tells a different story. As of May 2024:
2017 Batch: One month of arrears is owed to trainees who completed in 2020.
2018 Batch: Three months of arrears is owed to trainees who completed in 2021.
2019 Batch: Four months of arrears is owed to trainees who completed in 2022.
2020 Batch: A staggering fifteen months of arrears is owed to trainees who completed in 2023.
2021 Batch: Trainees in their 3rd year as of May 2024 are owed 27 months of arrears, while those in 2-year courses are owed 17 months. In not less then a month these batch of trainees will complete their training with this huge sum of arrears.
2022 Batch: An estimated 16 months of arrears are owed as of May 2024.
2023 Batch: Nine months of arrears is owed to trainees who will complete in 2026 as of May 2024.
“Approximately 30% of trainees have never received any allowances at all. And after completion trainees do not stand any chance of receiving their arrears owned by government as there is no arrangement put in place for that since the restoration of allowance evidenced by many trainees who completed without allowance and has never been paid their arrears since.
“This situation is untenable and unacceptable. Trainees across various batches are facing significant financial hardships due to the non-payment of their allowances. It is imperative that the government acts swiftly to address this issue and fulfill its promises by paying all arrears as stated above due to trainees not the usual one-month payment out of the many arrears been owed by the government to these hardworking students.
“We call on the government to prioritize the payment of arrears owed to trainees and ensure that such delays do not occur in the future. The education and well-being of our nurses and midwives should never be compromised.”
