ELWA Hospital’s Payroll Enters National Budget—But Staff Still in Limbo
- Michael T
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
For years, ELWA Hospital has borne the weight of a fragile healthcare system, operating like a public hospital by routinely waiving medical bills for thousands of indigent patients. This burden is carried by nurses earning roughly $150 a month, a wage that barely covers basic food costs in Monrovia and insults the scale of their responsibility.
A few weeks ago, this reality sparked a protest. The employees’ action was driven by years of unresolved grievances, including chronic underpayment of salaries, unpaid retroactive minimum wage arrears dating back to 2016, the diversion of deducted NASSCORP contributions, and management’s refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement.
The government of Liberia then moved to absorb the hospital’s payroll into the national budget, a decision presented as a stabilizing step in a time of crisis. This allocates a $1.4 million annual allocation for ELWA’s 338 staff—a fiscal acknowledgment that still avoids the core issue: while the government is taking over the payroll, it has not raised ELWA salaries to the standard earned by healthcare providers at other public hospitals. Payroll absorption ensures salaries are paid; it does not ensure they are fair, competitive, or aligned with the country’s own pay principles.
It is hard to square the administration’s lukewarm support with ELWA’s standing and role in the country. President Joseph Boakai trusted the hospital with his own health before he ascended to the presidency, seeking care within its walls. The same staff who were competent enough to care for him before he became the most powerful man in the country are still being paid starvation wages under his government.
Through two brutal civil wars, ELWA Hospital's doors never closed. During the Ebola outbreak of 2014–2016, it did not merely treat patients; it became the epicenter of medical resistance, operating the largest Ebola Treatment Unit in Liberia and pioneering survivor clinics for hundreds left in the disease’s wake. ELWA has held up Liberia during its darkest hours—now, who stands for it in its darkest moments? The answer requires more than applause. It calls for a reckoning.
This is unfolding as nurses and health workers protested for days, demanding more from their government, only to receive an intervention far below what they expected. Government has adjusted the salary structure, but ELWA staff remain underpaid, while nurses at JFK, Redemption, and other public hospitals earn significantly more for the same sacrifice. This reality stands in clear contradiction to the spirit and intent of the National Remuneration Standardization Act of 2019.
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