It’s all about Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), from teachers and now to nurses and midwives. The Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives Ghana (UPNMG) has stated that like teachers, its members deserve cost of living allowance (COLA).
UPNMG’s National PRO John Agbenyeavu signed a statement asserting that the government should pay 20 % COLA to all public sector workers to improve their survival in this economically challenging moment.
Here is the full statement;
The leader of the Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives, Ghana (UPNMG) is surprised at the laxity with which the welfare of Nurses and Midwives have been handled within these hard economic times.
In 2014, a cost of living allowance (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 situations and we expected nothing short of a similar stop gap measure to cushion the many Nurses and Midwives in the country.
We, the members of the UNION OF PROFESSIONAL NURSES AND MIDWIVES, GHANA (UPNMG) are equally calling on the government to as a matter of urgency to introduce at least 20 % of our basic salaries as COLA whiles we wait for the managers of the economy to turn things round. The strike called by teachers in their joint press release is a call in the right direction and deserve the full backing of all labour unions in the country.
We have waited for the bearer of the Collective Bargaining Certificate for Nurses and Midwives to make a move in demanding for this COLA but little is heard from them. 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 to 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.
The leadership is therefore calling on the employer as a matter of urgency to pay all Public Sector Workers the COLA to avert further industrial actions.
John Agbenyeavu (National PRO)
