Protesting Unemployed Nurses And Midwives Clash With Police

The premises of the Ministry of Health was this afternoon the scene of a a face-off between the Police and unemployed graduate Nurses and Midwives as a result of an abortive picket by the nurses.

At least five leaders of the aggrieved nurses were rounded up by the Police and detained at the Greater Accra regional Police headquarters for leading an incursion into the forecourt of the Health Ministry.

It was not clear the charges that they were looking to slap on the arrested nurses, some of whom had to fight off an attempt to handcuff them like criminals.

Sights and sounds from the protest included the fact that the marching nurses and midwives kept chanting, “2020 we go show Nana.”

Yesterday, WhatsUp News had received a copy of a petition that the group had been planning to serve to the Ministry of Health today. The petition had accused the sector Ministry of conniving with the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to downgrade allowances payable to the nurses and midwives.

The petition had also complained about the nurses not getting the appropriate financial clearance while the Health Ministry had been accused of not paying arrears owed the aggrieved nurses who had identified themselves as Unemployed Nurses and Midwives Association.

Amidst the clash with the Police, the unemployed nurses had lamented that life has been unbearable for them after completing school, accusing President Akufo-Addo of not fulfilling his promise, while in opposition, to employ them in the first ten days of heading government if he was voted for.

“We didn’t receive students allowance; we were promised by the sitting President that within 10 days in office he will give us employment, he never did; we need financial clearance so we can access allowances. In fact, we are just fed up,” one female protestor lamented in an interview.

The protestors accuse the Police of trampling on their rights saying that they followed due process and notified the Police of their intent to picket. They also accused the Health Ministry of putting the Police to the actions that they took against the protestors.