The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has denied claims that the government has engaged them on any roadmap toward implementing their collective agreement, stating that there has been no formal progress on the matter.
This comes as the association announced plans to embark on a strike, citing frustration over the delayed implementation of their Conditions of Service agreement.
The GRNMA has warned that failure to address the issue urgently could negatively affect healthcare delivery, especially amid a recent surge in mpox cases across the country.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, GRNMA President Perpetual Ofori Ampofo outlined a phased industrial action scheduled to begin with symbolic protests from June 2 to 3, during which members will wear red armbands or headbands at work.
READ: Call Off Strike and Return to Negotiations – MoH Appeals to GRNMA
From June 4 to 8, the strike will escalate to a full withdrawal of Outpatient Department (OPD) services, including public health activities, antenatal care, and specialist clinic services.
In response, the Ministry of Health expressed surprise over the GRNMA’s decision, stating in a release on May 28 that the move was unexpected given ongoing engagements with the sector minister.
The Ministry acknowledged that although the Conditions of Service were reviewed and set for implementation in 2024, the process has been delayed.
However, in an interview on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Ms. Ofori Ampofo refuted claims of any agreed-upon roadmap or constructive engagement.
She explained that the implementation process was disrupted by legal disputes after a faction claimed they were excluded from negotiations.
Though the matter was resolved in court in early 2025, the GRNMA says it has since written multiple letters and engaged stakeholders without receiving any concrete action from the Ministry of Finance.
The GRNMA insists that it has exhausted all diplomatic channels and will proceed with its planned strike unless the government acts promptly to implement the agreement.
READ: Nursing and Midwifery Unions Disassociate from GRNMA Strike, Urge Members to Stay at Post
“Our concern is one and one only. There has been undue delay on the implantation of our collective agreement which was formed way back in May 2024. Unfortunately for us, at that time that it was ging to be implemented with the Ministry of Finance, we had a section of our people who said there were not involved in the negotiation and therefore took the matter to court. It took us the rest of 2024 to have the matter resolved in court an we had judgment in 2025. Since then, we’ve been following up with letters, with engagements to get the Finance Ministry to does the needful by instructing the controller and the accountant general department and our employer that the collective agreement get implemented, that has been our headache. That action is not forthcoming and we think that we have done enough of giving excuses to the nurses and the midwifery fraternity on behalf of the employer”
READ: We Won’t Rescind Without Any Action – GRNMA Over Planned Strike
In response to the roadmap, she said, “….Is totally incorrect, I don’t know where that information is coming from. There has not been any roadmap. As far as we are concerned, as part as our core allowance that are supposed to come to nurses and midwives, there was one item which bothered on solidarity of our practise and we tried to engage the employer to have that implemented as soon as possible so that we don’t have legal matters on our hands with our practise.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
