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In the midst of the ongoing nationwide strike by nurses and midwives, Samuel Alagkora Akologo, the vice president of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), has called on the public to hold the government responsible if lives are lost.
His remarks come after a pivotal meeting that ended in a deadlock between the group and the Ministry of Health.
In an effort to break the deadlock and negotiate better working conditions, the Ministry called an urgent closed-door meeting with GRNMA executives and other important health players on Monday, June 9.
The government suggested postponing the adoption of the association’s conditions of service until 2026, citing financial limitations as the cause of its incapacity to satisfy the nurses’ and midwives’ present demands.
Shortly after the meeting, Akologo spoke to media, expressing unhappiness with the outcome and accused the government of not putting health professionals’ welfare first.
He maintained that the association’s position was warranted, pointing out that their suspicions of neglect had finally been validated.
“…Give us the best care and we can also give the best care and service to the people of Ghana. If we should lose a single life because of this agitation, it is the employers who should be held responsible, because what they are saying is that the health of Ghanaians is not important.
“The employers of the health workers are treating us like people who do not even matter. When we started the process, people were lambasting us and saying that we should exercise patience. Today’s meeting has reaffirmed our earlier position that the employers do not intend to implement our conditions of service. We have been vindicated.”
GRNMA accused the government of being slow to implement negotiated provisions for increased pay and better working conditions, which sparked the statewide strike.
Despite early appeals for dialogue, tensions have increased as a result of the Ministry of Health’s inability to secure funds for these requirements in the 2025 budget.
Healthcare delivery nationwide is still being disrupted by the industrial action, which has no end in sight.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
