The coalition of Unemployed Allied Health Professions-Ghana 2017 and 2018 batch has backed down on its intended demonstration against the Ministry of Health.
Last Wednesday, members of the group threatened to embark on a demonstration exercise to register their displeasure with the government over the delay in getting them their financial clearance for permanent employment within the public sector.
They were part of a team government was relying on for the contact tracing of persons believed to have been exposed to Coronavirus.
Over 500 of these allied health professionals involved in the COVID-19 contact tracing pulled out of the exercise last week alleging unfair treatment by the Ministry of Health.
Speaking to Citi News, Vice President of the group, Erica Addo, said a meeting has been scheduled with their mother union and the chief director of the Health Ministry on Monday.
“Our Council and Association President have told us to hold on with the demonstration. Because of the pandemic in the other places, we don’t know if there will be a lockdown there so we have been told to hold on until the Ministry responds to us. We have a meeting with the Minister of Health and Chief Director for Health Service on Monday. So as such, we should hold on so that after their meeting then we can conclude on that,” he said.
The protest
The group was to embark on a demonstration to register its displeasure over government’s refusal to grant them financial clearance.
According to the group, after several engagements with the Health Ministry, it has failed to grant its members financial clearance just as it has done for the 2017 batch of diploma nurses.
In a statement to announce the withdrawal and express the “neglect and unfair treatment that has been meted out” to them, the coalition said: “The leadership of the Coalition of Graduate Unemployed Allied Health Professionals (COAHP) 2017 and 2018 batch wishes to inform the general public that effective 13th April 2020, all members who volunteered to do contact tracing, sample taking and testing nationwide have withdrawn their services in the COVID-19 teams.”
