The Coalition of Unconsented Nurses and Midwives group, consisting over 2000 nurses and midwives, are raising an alarm over what they call as “deliberate delay” of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives’ Association to refund their salary deductions to them.
According to them, even though they have given all material proof to the GRNMA and its related partners to give them their refund, the leadership of the association has paid a deaf ear to them.
SEE ALSO:Check out the new look of Abraham Attah the little boy in “Beast of No Nation”
One of the group’s Conveners, Joseph Arhin, said in an interview that they would be petitioning the Presidency in the coming days should the GRNMA fail to give them the refund. This is because they have worked for it.
He added that should nothing be done afterwards, they would storm the offices of the GRNMA to stop them from working. Things will get out of hands if their money is not given to them.
Another convener of the aggrieved nurses and midwives by name Samuel Pius Lasir said that in the era of Covid-19, when the President has called for all to eat healthy food to boost their immune system, their monies ought to be given to them with immediate effect so they can also enjoy some healthy food as proposed by the president.
SEE ALSO:Man cuts off the ears of his ‘stubborn’ 10-year-old son and burns his fingers.
“They are delaying us with the payment. We are coming together to take them to court. We are giving them an ultimatum to communicate back to us within that period. We want them to pay us or we will petition the President. They are sabotaging the system and if that happens they will lose more members . We want our money.” he added.
According to them the aggrieved nurses and Midwives, members who have planned to chase their refund, have become a target of threat from the GRNMA, a development they describe as unfortunate.
He said they had held meetings with the Labour Commission, where Madam Evelyn Mensah, the Chief Nursing Director at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Baffour Awuah, of the Ministry of Health, Dr Asante Krobea, former president of GRNMA, and Madam Perpetual Ofori, current president, were all present, but said these people were always dragging their feet.
SEE ALSO:I am in danger for criticizing government- Lydia Forson laments
“At the meeting, they asked us to furnish them with the list and staff Identification Cards of the petitioners and where they work. A total of 2, 487 nurses and midwives penned down their names and we served them,” he said.
It would be recalled that on February 28, 2020, it was indicaed that there was tension within the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives’ Association (GRNMA) over what was described as “unconsented deductions”.
It was the case of the aggrieved nurses and midwives that they were made to understand that certain deductions would be made from their salaries as contribution into the GRNMA Nurses Fund and that upon exiting the association or attaining retirement, their contributions would be refunded to them.
SEE ALSO:We need your help or we’ll end up on “empty stomach” as our predecessors – Stonebwoy to Govt
But “After several months of exiting the association, some members are yet to receive their Nurses fund deductions from the association,” Piue Lasir complained.
“The immediate past executives of the GRNMA, who were vilified by the current administration for reasons best known to them, started with the payment process and, indeed, paid a number of people who submitted their request,” Mr Lasir said and expressed wonder why the new executive were not following suit.
The aggrieved health professionals have, therefore, backlashed the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association over undue deductions on the path of the GNRMA as the reason for the fury.
SEE ALSO:I saw Bishop Daniel Obinim in Heaven – Prophet Nigel Gaisie
A statement by the nurses stated that, “The current Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) executives are causing trouble in the health sector, which has been peaceful for some time now.
“These new executives, since they took over office, have done nothing but to cause trouble among the rank and file of the profession.”
After that, the statement questioned, “Since when has joining or remaining in a union become ‘by force‘.
SEE ALSO:Community Health nurse dies sadly from coronavirus in Western Region
“For about sixty years (60 years), the GRNMA was the sole union for Nurses and Midwives in the country. Over this period, members contributed 2% of their salary as dues, and currently GHc20 is contributed as building levy and GHc50.00 into the Nurses Fund, which is managed by Axis Pensions. The condition is that all contributors will be given their money upon retirement or exit from the union.”
The statement went further to state that, “The current president [of the association] before she took office, made all of us to feel she was the messiah who was coming to save us and thus our refund was not going to be a problem.”
“It is quite astonishing that few weeks after taking office, the only thing we can talk about now is lawsuits against the union and press statements upon press statements from aggrieved members across the country.
SEE ALSO:‘Being Davido’s house boy is better than being a Bank manager’ Aloma DMW reveals
“We are by this public notice giving the GRNMA and Axis Pensions five working days to pay us our money or face the wrath of members.
“The conveners of this group have so far been able to calm the wrath of the members and prevented them from doing anything that will disrupt the health delivery system, especially in this time of coronavirus outbreak, which is threatening global health but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to hold members back if their monies are not paid to them within this time frame.”
We are hoping to hearing good news from
GRNMA and Axis Pensions.
SEE ALSO:There are 2 Types of Coronavirus in the World – Prophet TB Joshua Reveals
