Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Professor Samuel Kaba AkoriyeaThe Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, has appealed to the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) to call off its ongoing strike and return to the negotiation table.
He urged the striking nurses and midwives to consider the plight of patients who are being turned away from hospitals due to the industrial action.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, June 9, Prof. Kaba Akoriyea questioned what they would do if they or a relative were in labour but could not get medical attention due to the strike.
“To have that. Let me also take the opportunity to call on our sister and brother nurses to come back to work,” he said, adding, “Like I told one nurse yesterday—if you go to the hospital now as a nurse and you’re pregnant, and you’re about to deliver, what would you say? Would you say, ‘I won’t deliver today because we’re on strike?’ No, you’d be shouting for help.”
He continued, “Let’s all go back to the negotiation table. If it’s your auntie or your mother who is sick, what would you do? Would you say you won’t take her to the hospital because you’re on strike? And when you do take her, who do you expect to care for her or for yourself?”
“So, I humbly add my voice to that of the Honourable Minister—please come back to work and let’s continue to negotiate,” he appealed.
The strike by GRNMA was declared in demand for the implementation of its 2024 Collective Agreement, which includes unpaid allowances and delayed postings.
Key provisions of the agreement include a 13th-month salary, fuel and medical allowances, rural incentive allowances, renewal of practising licenses, and provision of uniforms for nurses and midwives.
