Nurses And Midwives Angry �Threaten Strike Action By June 30

THE GHANA Nurses and Midwife Trainees Association (GNMTA) has declared that effective June ending it will declare a nationwide strike if nothing positive is heard from government over their delayed allowance. The resultant effect, if the strike takes place, is that nursing students will quit working in the various hospitals during vacations and pour out on the streets to register their anger. At a press conference addressed by the national president, Emmanuel Geyevo, GNMTA said several petitions have been sent to both the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance for redress; however, they have been to no avail. The press conference was attended by nursing trainees across the country who were clad in red band to show their seriousness. According to the association, government has failed to honour its part of the contract signed during the admission process to sponsor the trainees, with condition of serving the nation for at least a period of five years after training, by not paying the allowances of trainee nurses since 2012. They said the situation is creating financial turbulence among the students nationwide, aggravated by high cost of school fees, adding that the students who depend on the allowances to pay their fees are now resorting to �inappropriate means of generating money to survive." �Students who borrowed monies to cater for themselves with the hope of refunding with the allowances are being threatened to be arrested due to the delay." The association is calling on government to issue clearance letters to the various institutions as soon as possible to enable the schools submit the completed allowance forms for further processing and to also accredit graduates of Seikwa HATS to be posted to their work places since they are being denied posting. Government should also pay all allowances due the level 200 trainees not later than 30th June, 2014.�