The leadership of the group calling itself the Unpaid Nurses and Midwives in the Ashanti Region has threatened to go on strike if the Ministry of Finance does not ensure their clearance and pay all outstanding salaries by July 31, 2015.

The group mentioned that information they have gathered so far indicated that their financial clearance has not been signed by the minister of finance and for that matter, no authority has been able to state emphatically when they would be paid their 15 to 17 months salaries.

In a release copied to DAILY GUIDE, the group took their plea this time to the seat of government, the group petitioned President John Mahama to intervene in their situation.

With membership of over 200 in the region, the group claimed that they had worked in their various capacities of general nurses, registered midwives and enrolled nurses for as long as15 to 17 months without salaries.

“Mr President after months of unsuccessful attempts to get us paid and upon deliberations between the regional human resource management and the regional executives of the Ghana Registered Nurses’ Association the following conclusions have been drawn that failure by the government to meet the above stated deadline means embarking on a peaceful demonstration and aborting of our duties,” Amankwah Kyeremeh Richard, the group president said.

He lamented over the hardship the nurses were going through, especially when the monthly allowance which is their only source of livelihood had been scrapped away by government in August 2014.

“This has brought a lot of untold hardships to us, so we ask Mr President how then do we survive in the first place and work? he asked.

He said the explanation given for the delay was their appointment letters delayed in coming and for that matter their documents could not be processed in time.

Mr Amankwah continued that “our role as nurses and midwives in health delivery in non-negotiable, so it is quite fascinating that our salaries and arrears due us seem to be something that must be negotiated or justified.”