Over 128,000 members of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) commenced a nationwide strike around June 4, 2025. This industrial action was initiated due to the government's persistent failure to implement new conditions of service, which were formally agreed upon in a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) back in 2024 under the then Akufo-Addo administration.

Addressing the ongoing strike, the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, held a press conference on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, to articulate the government's position. He explained that the financial stipulations of the 2024 Collective Agreement are not incorporated into the 2025 Budget Statement. Consequently, the Minister warned that an immediate implementation of the agreement as it stands "will completely dislodge the national budget."

Given these stated budgetary constraints, the government has formally proposed to the GRNMA that the implementation of their improved conditions of service be deferred until 2026. Alongside this proposal, Ministry of Health spokesperson, Tony Goodman, has publicly stated that the Ministry remains open to continued dialogue with the GRNMA and is willing to show flexibility and adjust positions through further negotiation, inviting more proposals from the association.

The GRNMA, however, has firmly rejected the government's proposal to postpone the implementation to 2026. GRNMA Vice President, Samuel Alagkora Akologo, characterized the deferral suggestion as both unfair and unacceptable. He highlighted that negotiations for these service conditions originally began in January 2024, with the association members expecting a timely rollout. The GRNMA contends that delaying implementation not only erases any accrued arrears but also fundamentally undermines the integrity of the negotiation process.

The core demand from the GRNMA remains the immediate and full implementation of the conditions of service that were agreed upon in 2024. While the association has expressed its openness to further discussions with government representatives, it has emphatically stated its unwillingness to enter into any renegotiation of the terms already finalized in the signed CBA. This position was clearly reiterated by Jefferson Asare, the GRNMA Greater Accra Regional Chairman, on June 9, 2025, who said, "We are ready to meet... but for renegotiation, we are not ready."

Mr. Asare also voiced a sentiment of disparity, stressing that within the broader health sector, nurses and midwives appear to be the only professional group whose agreed-upon conditions of service from that period have yet to be implemented. Echoing the resolve of its members, the GRNMA has vowed that its members will not resume their duties until the government honors and fully implements the 2024 agreement.

The continuing strike is causing significant disruptions to healthcare services across Ghana, with hospitals and clinics, particularly those providing maternal and emergency care, operating under severe strain and leaving many patients stranded. This situation represents a serious standoff between the health professionals and the government, leading to growing frustration and demoralization among health workers and placing increasing public and political pressure on the government to find an urgent resolution to the escalating crisis.