Thomas Ampem Nyarko, the deputy finance minister, has told the Nurses and midwives that their salary arrears will be captured in the next budget.
He expressed gratitude to the nurses and midwives for their service and apologised for the delay.
Speaking to the Nurses and midwives who hit the street demanding their salary arrears, Thomas Ampem Nyarko stated, “The message I give them is what I’m giving to you: that your issue is being addressed. We have inherited numerous legacy challenges, and we are working diligently to address them all.
In the next month or so, the Finance Minister will be in Parliament to present a new budget. Issues of health workers who have not been paid, not just you, there are even some doctors and others, are seriously being considered, and you are going to receive your salary,” he stated.
He further added, “We appreciate the work that you do for Ghana, and I’m sorry for those of you who are not even well, but have had to walk all the way here to present this petition. It will be given the needed urgent attention, as you have stated, and you’ll hear back from us”.
The Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives, today, Thursday, October 2, 2025, staged a protest to demand their salary arrears owed by the government.
According to the nurses and midwives, about 7,000 of them have been working without salaries for the past nine to 10 months.
Stephen Kwadwo Takyiah, the convenor of the coalition, stated, “We are not comfortable hitting the streets, but it has become necessary. We are citizens, trained as professional nurses and midwives from nursing training colleges and universities.
“We graduated in 2020, completed our rotations, and waited at home for three years. In July 2024, the Ministry of Health announced it had secured financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance for our employment.
“The portals were opened, we registered, and by October 2024, we received postings and reported to work in December. Out of the 15,000 announced, about 13,000 took up postings.
“But in April 2025, only some of our colleagues started receiving salaries. As we speak, just over 6,500 have been paid, while nearly 7,000 of us have worked for close to 10 months without pay,” he lamented.
The protest started from the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park, the demonstrators will then march to the Ministry of Finance and later the Ministry of Health to submit a petition to demand immediate resolution.
Meanwhile, a teary nurse has broken down as she recounted how she has not been paid for the past 10 months despite the hard work and stress of her job at the Korle Bu hospital.
The nurse revealed that her situation has become dire, with her rent due and no means to pay.
Speaking in a viral video, the teary nurse stated, “We are just pleading with the government to pay us, we have been working for ten good months without salaries. Personally, my rent expired in August, and I have not been able to pay. My landlord is always asking When are you going to pay?
I have been asking for time. I stay at Pentang and I work in Korle Bu, I take transportation for 42 cedis to work every day. How do they expect me to get that money to come to work?”
She further added, “I am doing my work at the Hospital, just for the minister to tell me he appreciates what I am doing, what kind of appreciation, which form of appreciation. How can somebody work for ten good months, and you tell the person you appreciate them?
I cannot stand it, I am owing rent, what should I do to be able to pay my rent, they should pay us enough, it’s enough. You cannot even ask somebody for money the moment you text the person, they think you are coming to beg”.
Her experience reflects the plight of several newly recruited nurses and midwives, who today staged a protest against the government over 10 months of unpaid salaries.