The strike by members of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives association (GRNMA) continues unabated.
This is the outcome of a meeting between the leadership of the Association and officials of the Ministry of Health on June 9.
The meeting ended in a stalemate as the Ministry cited budgetary constraints for its inability to effect payment this year.
This was disclosed by the Vice President of GRNMA, Samuel Alagkora Akologo on TV3’s Ghana Tonight.
“We were told there was no budget provision for our demands. These conditions of service were submitted in January, and we expected them to be factored into this year’s budget. Now they are saying we have to wait for 2026 budget,” he bemoaned.
“They say we provide essential services, yet this is how they are treating us, is that fair?” he asked.
Mr Akologo noted that the claim of no budget vindicates their position that government has no intention of meeting their demands.
“This is where some of us now confirm our earlier belief that the employer has no intention of implementing our conditions of service. And that those series of meetings they were engaging us in were just to pretend to be solving our problems, when they had no actual interest in dealing with the issue,” he said.
Mr Akologo lamented that although the signed the agreement at the same time with other health sector professional unions such as the Medical Association and Physician Assistants etc, the GRNMA is the only group that has not been catered for.
“Theirs were implemented, but ours because of the court case that we had, made it impossible for the employer to implement same,” he explained.
“If they think we do not deserve this small token we are asking for, then they cannot describe us as essential service,” he stressed.
Effect on healthcare delivery
Meanwhile, as the strike continues, patients in need of medical care are likely not to receive any.
The healthcare workers are on strike due to government’s failure to implement their conditions of service agreed upon by the previous government.
The GRNMA has vowed not to resume work until government implements their conditions of service agreed in 2024.
In the Northern and Savannah regions, few nurses who belong to other unions reported to work to take care of patients. However, the number of health workers who reported at the facilities were inadequate to cater for patients particularly those who needed critical care.
TV3’s Northern Regional Correspondent, Christopher Amoako reported that most of the nurses at the Salaga hospital are students who are undergoing their clinicals.
In the Eastern Region, Regional correspondent, Yvonne Neequaye said the situation is no better as the New Juaben health facility has been left empty with patients returning home as there are no healthcare workers to offer medical care.
At the Adabraka polyclinic in the Greater Accra, the industrial action is fully in place as the Out-Patient Department of the facility has no nurses to attend to patient.
3News sources have confirmed that leaders of the GRNMA are in a meeting with the Health Minister at the Ministry to resolve the situation for nurses and midwives to resume work.
President of NARM Ghana, Leticia Asaba Atiah in an interview on TV3’s Hot Issues, Sunday, June 8, 2025 said due process was not followed in declaring the ongoing strike, hence NARM – Ghana does not support the industrial action.
“It is at the time the decision was taken…There should be that respect to us. They thought our number, maybe we are not just as big as they are and they are the holder of the bargaining certificate and we don’t have power to bargain so we have to listen to them.
“We are not in support because we could not complete the due process because we were yet to meet the finance minister so that is our stand,” she stated.
