Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) announced the suspension of its nationwide strike on Friday, June 13, which had successfully paralyzed medical services since June 2, 2025. The decision follows an engagement with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and other key stakeholders.
The industrial action began after a prolonged standoff with the government over the delayed implementation of the 2024 Collective Agreement, which covers unpaid allowances, salaries, and working conditions. The government had proposed pushing the agreement’s implementation to 2026, citing severe budgetary constraints. GRNMA rejected this proposal, insisting on its immediate enforcement.
Strike escalation timeline
June 2–3: Nurses and midwives wore red armbands and headbands in protest.
June 4–8: Total withdrawal of Outpatient Department (OPD) and public health services.
June 9: Complete withdrawal of all nursing and midwifery services, including emergency care.
Ghana’s healthcare system was faced with an unprecedented crisis as over 128,000 nurses and midwives participated in the nationwide strike, bringing medical services to a near standstill and forcing the Ministry of Health to appeal for retired nurses and midwives to return.
The union had reiterated that the 2024 Collective Agreement must be fully implemented without further delay. Their demands included improvements in key allowances such as:
- Book and research allowance
- Uniform allowance
- Fuel allowance
- Non-basic allowance
- On-call facilitation allowance
- Rural incentive allowance
- 13th-month salary allowance
- Continuous professional development allowance (offered voluntarily to ease the crisis)
GRNMA’s clarification and position
In an attempt to put pressure on the union to end the strike, the government and mainstream media outlets began to spread misinformation and accuse the healthcare workers of putting patients at risk through their industrial action and that the strike was politically motivated. In response to widespread misinformation on the strike, GRNMA set the record straight emphasized that:
- The strike was driven by the urgent need to enforce the 2024 Collective Agreement.
- Nurses and midwives take no pleasure in withdrawing care but cannot continue working under a system that neglects their welfare.
- The Association remains non-partisan and has never aligned with any political party in its 65 years of existence.
The government of Ghana had called on the union to end the strike and stated that it would open negotiations. Meanwhile, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem stated that fully meeting these demands would add over 2 billion Ghanaian cedis (approximately USD 195 million) to the country’s annual wage bill.
Suspension of the strike
Following discussions with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health on June 12, 2025, the GRNMA leadership announced the suspension of the industrial action pending further engagements.
The union directed all nurses and midwives to resume their normal shift duties starting Saturday, June 14, while awaiting the outcome of a scheduled follow-up meeting on June 26.
“We will not rest on our oars until the Collective Agreement is fully implemented,” GRNMA stated.
