The Ministry of Health is calling on the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) to suspend its planned nationwide strike over the delayed implementation of their Conditions of Service.
In a statement issued on May 28, 2025, the Ministry expressed disappointment with the strike notice, stating that such action could have serious consequences for public health and patient care. The Ministry stressed that ongoing dialogue is the best way to resolve the matter and emphasized that it had already engaged the GRNMA leadership in multiple meetings led by Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh.
According to the Ministry, the reviewed Conditions of Service—initially expected to take effect in 2024—were delayed due to administrative challenges inherited from the previous administration. To address these issues, a tripartite committee made up of representatives from the GRNMA, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Finance has been formed to fast-track implementation.
“Using the lives of patients as leverage in the demand for the implementation of a collective bargaining agreement is not the appropriate course of action,” the Ministry’s statement read.
In a significant twist, four other unions—the Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives Ghana (UPNMG), the Professional Association of Psychiatric Nurses Ghana (PAPNG), the National Association of Registered Midwives Ghana (NARM-GH), and the Ghana Registered Midwives Association (GRMA)—have publicly distanced themselves from the strike. They urged their members to stay at post and support ongoing negotiations.
The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to fair working conditions for nurses and midwives, urging the GRNMA to reconsider the strike and return to the negotiation table.
