The nationwide strike initiated by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) remains at a stalemate following the union’s firm refusal to accept the government’s suggestion to postpone the enforcement of their agreed conditions of service until 2026.
Some nurses in Ghana declared strike action on June 2 with gradual withdrawal of services over new government’s failure to implement a 2024 collective agreement .
The nurses totally withdraw their services beginning yesterday June 9 according to their directive.
On Monday, June 9, the Ministry of Health convened a confidential emergency meeting with GRNMA officials and other relevant stakeholders in a bid to resolve the deadlock and negotiate improved terms for nurses and midwives.
Despite these efforts, the talks ended without a breakthrough.
GRNMA Vice President Samuel Alagkora Akologo, speaking to the press after the meeting, disclosed that the Ministry of Health cited financial limitations as the primary reason for its inability to fulfill the union’s demands.
“We were informed that there is no budget allocation to support the implementation of these conditions of service. These proposals were submitted to the government in January, and we had anticipated their inclusion in this year’s budget. Regrettably, we have been told that budgetary constraints are hindering progress,” Akologo explained.
He stressed that the government’s counteroffer involved deferring the implementation of the new service conditions until 2026, a proposal the GRNMA finds unacceptable.
“And what they wanted us to agree on was to push the implementation to 2026. What it means is that they wanted to set the conditions of the service calendar so that it will be like we have just renegotiated, and then we are moving on, so that the idea of arrears will not come in. This is not fair,” he stated.
The GRNMA’s National Council is set to convene soon to evaluate the government’s proposal and decide on the union’s forthcoming actions.
Meanwhile, healthcare facilities nationwide continue to face significant operational challenges due to the ongoing strike.
Patients at the Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua are calling on government to urgently resolve its impasse with striking nurses to save lives and restore full healthcare services.
At the hospital’s Outpatient Department, and other unites many patients were left stranded, as only a handful of nurses were on duty.
The nationwide strike declared by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, GRNMA, entered a week today, leaving healthcare delivery severely disrupted.
Source : www.kumasimail.com /Kwadwo Owusu
