CONSPAG announced in a statement dated July 2, 2024, to all NSS personnel, user agencies, and relevant stakeholders.

They cited difficulties in paying for accommodation and utilities, transportation to various assignments, and basic sustenance at their workplaces as reasons for the strike.

According to CONSPAG, many personnel have resorted to borrowing money to cope with these financial burdens due to the non-payment of allowances.

Additionally, these financial hardships have led to health complications among the personnel.

The government reportedly owes trainees five months allowances and university graduates three months worth.

CONSPAG emphasized that personnel have been working under harsh conditions without allowances for five and three months, respectively.

The Association described the situation as akin to slavery, stressing that their workforce is being undervalued and their service to the nation is not being appropriately recognized.

They highlighted that, National Service Personnel are crucial to the success of many public and private institutions and that their contributions should not be overlooked.

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According to the Association, the non-payment of the allowances for two years has made life unbearable for trainee nurses and midwives.

The leadership of the Association says all efforts to get the government, through the Ministry of Health, to pay their allowances have proven futile.

Speaking to Citi News, the National President of the Ghana Nurse and Midwife Trainees’ Association, Pascal Adumbisa said his outfit will use all reasonable and lawful means to ensure that the allowances are paid.

“We are owed about almost two years and others are also owed about 18 months and those in the second year are owed about 16 months and some are owed 14 months so we issued a statement on July 25 to government because we have had engagements with stakeholders on the issue of allowance, but we have not had any response from the Ministry,” she said.

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Signed by its President, Pascal Adumbisa, the petition noted that despite frantic efforts to get the government to resolve the issue, to date no resolution has been achieved yet regarding the payment of trainee nurses and midwives’ allowances.

Mr Adumbisa said the prolonged delay in payment has exacerbated the hardships faced by the trainees who depend on these allowances for their education and well-being.

President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2017 launched the restoration of the Nurses and Midwifery trainee allowances in Sunyani, in fulfilment of his 2016 electioneering campaign.

“But for over a year now, midwives and nurses have not received their allowances. We received an allowance in March. That was for three months and these three months that came in March were for 2022, not 2023. 2021, they made payments for September, October and November but June and December for 2021 were not paid, that is for those who just completed,” the petition explained.

He said the fallout from this egregious failure by the government is already evident, as trainee nurses and midwives face severe financial hardships, hindering their ability to focus fully on their essential training and achieving the highest levels of expertise in their field.

“This failure he intimated presents a major setback not only for the trainees themselves but for the entire healthcare sector of Ghana,” it added.

Mr Adumbisa further reiterated the importance of the allowance saying it plays a crucial role in supporting nurse and midwife trainees in Ghana, particularly during their practicums.

He said it cushions them against exorbitant expenditures, ensuring that trainees can fully focus on their practical training without financial stress.

He added that failure on the part of government to heed their demands to pay their allowances would amount to undermining the motivation and dedication of the trainees, which could ultimately have a detrimental impact on the entire healthcare system.

“We call upon the government to rectify this injustice without further delay, to restore faith in its commitment to the healthcare sector, and to re-establish its role as a responsible custodian of the nation’s future healthcare professionals,” the President of GNMTA stressed.

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The action, according to them, is to protest the non-payment of their 10-month allowance although the programme ends on September 1, 2022.

A statement, signed by their president, Dennis Opoku Asiedu, indicated this will be the second phase of a similar action on August 18 during which they gave the government an ultimatum to address their concerns.

However, the timeline window which fell on August 26, they bemoaned, has expired by three days but they are yet to hear anything from the government.

With trainees expected to converge at the Obra Spot, the leadership has cautioned they shall be hanging in at the Jubilee House until their stipends for 10 months are paid.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, during the midyear budget review presentation announced the programme which initially run for three years and was extended for an additional year, will be completed by 1st September 2022. 

The programme, which engaged 100,000 young graduates, he indicated has prepared thousands of them for the world of work and therefore urged them to take advantage of the YouStart.