Labour consultant Austin Gamey has urged calm and restraint as pressure intensifies on government to settle months of salary arrears owed to nurses and midwives working in public health facilities, insisting that the state has both the responsibility and the means to resolve the issue.
His intervention follows mounting frustration among a group of nurses and midwives affiliated with the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, who say they were posted to government facilities and worked for close to twelve months but were paid for only one month during that period.
According to the affected health workers, the prolonged delay in salary payments has left many of them financially distressed, emotionally drained, and struggling to remain motivated at work. They accuse the Ministry of Health and other relevant state agencies of making repeated assurances that have not translated into concrete action, while alleging that payments have been made selectively to some workers but not others.
Commenting on the matter, Mr Gamey rejected the notion that the situation should be explained solely as a shortage of funds, stressing that once people have been formally engaged and have rendered services, government assumes a binding obligation to pay them.
“In my view, the question of money may not be the whole story. It may play a role, but this is now an obligation that must be honoured,” he said.
Drawing on his own experience from past stints in government, the labour consultant acknowledged that delays in paying public sector workers were not new in Ghana’s administrative history. However, he argued that the country has made enough progress institutionally to avoid repeating such challenges.
“We have dealt with similar matters over the years, and they have persisted for far too long. But we have reached a stage where we should not be recycling these same problems again,” he observed.
Mr Gamey expressed confidence that the nurses and midwives would eventually receive their full arrears, maintaining that the issue was one of prioritisation rather than impossibility.
“They will be paid. There is no doubt about that. And the state has the capacity to pay them,” he said.
He further stated that government could mobilise the necessary resources, pointing to what he described as the empathetic disposition of the country’s leadership toward the welfare of working people.
“I strongly believe that the funds can be raised, especially considering the kind of President we have, who understands and is sensitive to the concerns of workers,” he added.
While acknowledging the depth of anger and disappointment among the affected health professionals, Mr Gamey appealed to them to remain patient and avoid actions that could escalate tensions.
“I would encourage them to stay calm and allow the process to run its course. There are people behind the scenes who are also pushing and advocating on their behalf,” he said.
He also warned against resorting to street protests or legal action at this stage, arguing that confrontation might complicate rather than speed up a resolution.
“I do not believe that demonstrations or taking a purely legal route will provide an immediate solution under the current circumstances,” he cautioned.
The comments come at a time when nurses and midwives say the continued neglect of their welfare is eroding morale across public hospitals and clinics, raising concerns that patient care could suffer if the situation is not addressed urgently.
Story by Freedom Etsey Lavoe/Ahotoronline.com