GRNMA open to talks but rules out renegotiating 2024 agreement
The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) says it is prepared to meet government representatives over the ongoing strike but will not entertain any attempt to renegotiate the 2024 conditions of service agreement.
In a radio interview on Monday [June 9, 2025] the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the GRNMA, Jefferson Asare, said the association would honour a formal invitation to dialogue but maintained that the signed agreement must be implemented without changes.
“We are ready to meet if we receive a formal invitation, but we are not open to renegotiation,” Mr Asare said.
He added that the government had already acknowledged the agreement and assured implementation in the 2025 budget, but had failed to follow through.
The nurses’ strike, which began last week in protest of delays in implementing the collective agreement, has disrupted outpatient and emergency care across major public health facilities. This continued despite a court order obtained by the National Labour Commission (NLC) directing the association to call off the strike.
The Industrial and Labour Division of the High Court in Accra, presided over by Justice Priscilla Dikro Ofori, granted the interim injunction on Thursday, June 5, declaring the industrial action illegal and instructing the GRNMA to resume work. The injunction is valid for ten days.
In response, GRNMA has accused some government officials and facility managers of using intimidation tactics, including deploying student nurses without licences and rotating nurses without supervision to cover gaps left by striking professionals.
In a statement, the association described the move as unsafe and unethical, warning that unless such actions ceased, it would extend the strike to include all nursing and midwifery services across the country.
The dispute centres on a collective agreement signed in May 2024 and later affirmed through a court-supervised settlement in December of the same year.
Among the items under contention are enforcement of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, rural incentives, support for midwives’ healthcare needs, and payment of fees for professional licence renewals.
Mr Asare said the financial implications of the demands were modest. “CPD costs are less than GH¢80 per nurse annually,” he said, arguing that the delays were not due to cost but to inaction on the part of the government.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has called on nurses and midwives to return to work and continue engaging with the government.
During a visit to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, LEKMA Hospital, and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on Thursday, June 5, Mr Akandoh said the ministry had already met the association multiple times and remained open to further discussions.
During the minister’s visit, outpatient departments at the hospitals were largely empty, with only a handful of patients present and reduced staff attending to those admitted.
Despite the minister’s outreach, the GRNMA insists that a written commitment from the Ministry of Finance, confirming approval of the 2024 agreement, is the only way forward. Until then, the group says it will continue its partial withdrawal of services and may proceed with a complete shutdown if the situation does not improve.