Ghana secures enhanced pay and welfare terms for nurses heading to Saint Kitts and Nevis

• Ghana has signed an additional labour agreement with Saint Kitts and Nevis to improve conditions for Ghanaian nurses.

• The agreement provides for enhanced salaries, health insurance, rent allowance and end-of-service benefits, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

• 47 Ghanaian nurses are already working in Saint Kitts and Nevis under a two-year labour exchange programme.

Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says Ghana has secured improved employment conditions for nurses deployed to Saint Kitts and Nevis under a new additional bilateral labour agreement.

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The minister announced the agreement in a post on X, saying he signed it with Saint Kitts and Nevis Deputy Prime Minister Dr Geoffrey Hanley on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Ablakwa said the agreement guarantees Ghanaian nurses enhanced salaries, health insurance, rent allowance and end-of-service benefits, among other labour rights.

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He added:

In March, Ghana and Saint Kitts and Nevis signed a bilateral labour agreement in to facilitate the recruitment and temporary deployment of Ghanaian medical professionals to the federation. 

Saint Kitts and Nevis said at the time that the arrangement was intended to help address shortages in its healthcare workforce while creating structured employment opportunities for qualified Ghanaian health professionals.

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In June, 47 Ghanaian nurses left Ghana for a two-year placement in Saint Kitts and Nevis under the Ghana Labour Exchange Programme. The group consisted of 32 general nurses and 15 community and public health nurses.

The nurses were expected to receive accommodation, remuneration, transportation, meals and other agreed benefits under the original arrangement.