The management of the National Identification Authority (NIA) has officially requested a two-week window to finalize negotiations and address the grievances of its workforce to prevent a total shutdown of services.
The request follows an indefinite nationwide strike by workers under the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU) over unresolved concerns about their working conditions.
The industrial action, which is set to take effect on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 was declared by the NIA division of the union after what it described as a unanimous decision by its divisional executive council following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued earlier by the mother union.
The union in a statement directed all members across the country to fully comply with the strike until their demands are addressed.
Reacting to the threat on Morning Star on Starr FM on Monday, May 11, 2026, the Head of Corporate Affairs for the NIA, Williams Ampomah Darlas, revealed that significant progress has been made regarding the migration of staff salaries, though administrative bottlenecks at the Ministry of Finance remain the final hurdle.
According to Darlas, the delay was initially rooted in a jurisdictional conflict between the FWSC and the Public Services Commission (PSC) over which body held the mandate for the staff migration.
He noted that under the current leadership of Mr. Kenneth Agyapong, the authority successfully navigated these hurdles.
“We were able to resolve that, we worked with Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, we were able to do this, and then we moved it from Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to the Finance Ministry,” he explained.
While management maintains that the move to the Finance Ministry is a clear “show of concern” for the staff’s plight, Mr. Amponsah-Daulace admitted that the internal processing time within the Ministry has been problematic.
He validated the union’s frustration, stating, “The union feels, which I believe is true, that it has unnecessarily delayed.”
He explained that the proposal had to pass through several bureaucratic layers before reaching the Minister’s desk for final approval.
The NIA in a bid to de-escalate tensions, hosted a staff durbar today to bring together NIA Management, Union Leadership and the Chairman of FWSC, Dr. Yao Graham.
The primary goal of the durbar is to engage directly with the staff regarding their intended industrial action and to explain the status of the approval process.
The NIA spokesperson was candid about the legitimacy of the workers’ demands, suggesting that the next 14 days are critical.
“We just need to, once the two weeks lapse and we don’t get the final approval from the Finance Ministry, then they will be justified to, as it were, embark on an industrial strike,” Darlas said.
The outcome of today’s durbar is expected to determine whether the union will hold off on their strike action or proceed if they find the management’s assurances insufficient.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
