Mr Mahamadu Musah, the Upper East Regional President of the Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives, Ghana (UPNMG), says the Union is not in competition with anyorganization, but operates in the interest of its members in Ghana.
“UPNMG is not out to compete with any group, we are pacesetters and we exist to give voice to nurses and midwives who were mute from 1960 to 2019.
“We offer the opportunity to nurses and midwives in the country to decide which Union to join within our fraternity. UPNMG has broken the monopoly that existed several years ago,” he said.
He noted that there were several Unions within the teaching profession which co-existed with common unity of purpose, and were not engaged in unnecessary arguments over superiority among themselves.
Mr Musah who said this in an interview on the side-line of cash donation of GH 9000.00 to a sick member of the Union, emphasized that “The UPNMG is ready to collaborate with any stakeholder in the Ghana Health Service for the welfare of nurses and midwives.
“That is our priority. We are out for unity of purpose and not any selfish purpose,” the Regional President noted.
According to him, Unions that existed several years with collective bargaining certificates before the formation of the UPNMG in 2019, had “no track record” to show, adding that “They should make good use of the bargaining certificates.”
Mr Musah said with time, nurses and midwives in Ghana would decide which Union within their fraternity should hold the collective bargaining certificate, and was confident that the UPNMG would soon be handed over the certificate to bargain for better conditions of service for all nurses and midwives in Ghana.
On the issue of Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and Axillary Identification Numbers (AINs) issued by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana to the various categories of nurses, subject to annual renewal by the Council at a cost of GH 55.00, Mr Musah indicated that UPNMG was not against the renewal as was done for nurses and midwives in other Unions.
“PINs and AINs renewals are very important, and we in UPNMG support it 100 per cent. However, what we do not support is the renewal process. How can a Union deduct my money from January to December and renew my PIN with GH 55.00 and expect me to be happy. “What we in UPNMG is advocating is for the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana to
rather develop an application just like the National Health Insurance Authority has done, to enable nurses and midwives to renew their PINs and AINs in the comfort of their homes at their own cost,” he said.
The Regional President urged members of the UPNMG to continue to maintain high standards of integrity and professionalism in their respective health facilities, and not be intimidated by any Union.
