Parliament lauds nurses and midwives for calling off strike – Nsemkeka
Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has praised nurses and midwives for calling off their nationwide strike, which began on June 2, 2025.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Friday, Mr Ayariga, also the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, acknowledged the essential role of nurses and midwives in healthcare delivery in the country.
The Majority Leader said government representatives will engage the leadership of the nurses and midwives again on Thursday, June 26 for further negotiations on their conditions of service.
Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane, the Chairperson of Parliament’s Health Committee, joined the Majority Leader in commending the nurses and midwives on their decision to suspend their industrial action.
The Health Committee of Parliament on Thursday, June 12, 2025, held a crunch meeting with the executives of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) at Parliament House to find an amicable solution to the stand-off.
After a four-hour discussion, the GRNMA requested to return to their Council to table the proposals offered by the government before any concrete decision can be taken on the way forward.
Some government representatives present at Thursday’s meeting included Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health; Mahama Ayariga, the Majority Leader and Head of Government Business in Parliament, as well as officials of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and Ministry of Finance.
Members of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) embarked on nationwide strike to press home their demand for government to respect the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed in May 2024 and scheduled for implementation from July 1,2024.
The nurses and midwives were demanding government pay their outstanding 13 months’ allowances, allowances for nurses serving in rural areas, fuel allowance arrears, and other conditions of service.
However, the government’s representatives said they cannot honour the terms in the CBA this year due to budgetary constraints, an offer the GRNMA rejected.
The strike action disrupted healthcare delivery across the country, with many public health facilities closing, thus aggravating the health conditions of many patients and clients.