Nurses and midwives’ group joined calls for payment of 20% COLA
The Union of
Professional Nurse and Midwives has joined calls by some public sector workers
for the government to pay them a 20% cost of living allowance (COLA).
The
allowance, they say, is to help cushion them from the harsh economic situation
in the country.
In a press
statement issued on Tuesday, the health workers said they associate themselves
with the ongoing strike jointly declared by the University Teachers Association
of Ghana (UTAG), Tertiary Education Workers’ Union (TEWU), National Association
of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana and
the Teachers and Educational Workers Union over the COLA.
The union
argued that the government appears to be dragging its feet with regard to
ensuring their welfare.
“In 2014, a
cost of living allowances (COLA) of 10% of Public Sector Workers Basic salary
was paid to workers to cushion us when things got tough due to high cost of
living. In 2022, we find ourselves in a similar economic situation, and we
expected nothing short of a similar stop-gap measure to cushion the many nurses
and midwives in the country,” the statement said.
While
appealing to the government to immediately turn attention to health workers and
pay them the 20% COLA, UPNMG said it wants the government to urgently take a
look at the working conditions of nurses and midwives.
“We have
thus taken it upon ourselves as the second-largest union within the nursing and
midwifery profession to appeal to the government to as a matter of urgency take
a critical look at the matter. The earlier we begin to think about relooking at
the conditions in which nurses and midwives work in Ghana, the better it will
be for our health system as nurses and midwives play a major role in the health
delivery system,” they added.
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