The Coalition of Unemployed Public Degree Nurses in Kumasi has accused Government of sidelining them in the recent financial clearance issued for the employment of unemployed nurses.
The coalition is made up of over 300 unemployed degree nurses from schools such as the University of Cape Coast, the University of Ghana, the University of Development Studies and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
[contextly_sidebar id=”VWAn6hKK8IKoG3JHTlYKRQxTQ7tegLDH”]According to the leaders of the group, they are yet to be employed after completing their mandatory National Service in 2018.
Benjamin Effah, a member of the coalition told Citi News, the government has not treated them fairly.
“Government even went ahead recently to recruit more allied health professionals and yet they never considered a single public degree nurse who completed in 2016. So, the simple question our people are asking is it that now the government of the day no longer value higher education in health or the Ministry of Health has issues with the various Vice Chancellors for which reason they want to punish its graduates who completed degree nursing in 2016-if not, it is so surprising that government could give financial clearance 20,000 nurses and yet about 393 public degree nurses will be sidelined completely. ”
He also asked the government to employ them or prepare for a massive protest.
“If all these appeals and discussion we are having with them fail, then we have no option than to join hands with the University Students Nurses Association who are so furious about the recent happenings so that we hit the principal streets of Accra and demonstrate to register our displeasure about the current happenings as far as nursing recruitment is concerned. “
We’ll protest if Gov’t doesn’t respond to us in 10 days – Jobless private nurses
The Coalition of Unemployed Private Nurses had earlier threatened to embark on a demonstration if the government fails to employ its members into the mainstream health sector.
According to the leadership of the coalition, the government’s decision not to employ them amounts to discrimination, since financial clearance has been given to state-trained nurses.
Spokesperson of the Coalition, Doreen Boateng stated that all attempts to ensure they get financial clearance have been fruitless.
She also explained that President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Government have prioritized state-trained nurses over them, a situation they described as regrettable.
The coalition has given the government a 10-working-day ultimatum to begin the processes of employing them.
“There is no plan to recruit privately-trained nurses into the mainstream health sector like is being done for state-sponsored nurses for the Government made it clear that it will continue to give priority to nurses from public trained when the President said In the 2019 state of the nation address.”
“This is a clear example of discriminatory injustice, so we are giving the government 10 working days to reply this letter and we will press on our demands until civil society gets to understand that we are being treated unfairly and until Government hears us we are going to hold a mega demonstration dubbed ‘Ku me preko’ to share our grievances.”
MoH to recruit nurses
The Ministry of Health in a statement said that the government intends to commence recruitment for qualified general nurses, midwives, mental nurses, registered community health nurses and allied health professionals.
The process is scheduled to begin on Thursday 21st March 2019.
The statement signed by the Chief Director at the Health Ministry Nana Kwabena Adjei-Mensah called on all qualified persons to ensure their applications is submitted on Thursday, 28th March 2019.
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By: Nii Larte Lartey & Hafiz Tijani | citinewsroom.com |Ghana