Ibrahim Adjei, former Assistant Secretary to ex-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has accused the government of mishandling the ongoing Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) strike, warning that its failure to engage in meaningful dialogue with health workers risks pushing the country into a deeper healthcare crisis.
According to him, the administration’s posture shows signs of “losing control,” urging immediate intervention through honest negotiations.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Monday, June 9, Adjei slammed the government for what he described as an “intransigent attitude” in dealing with the striking nurses and midwives.
“We have a social contract with the doctors, nurses, and health workers as a whole. We cannot keep telling them to return to work when people’s lives are on the line. You don’t hold healthcare workers to ransom.”
He stressed that the government’s failure lies not only in delayed allowances but in its breakdown of trust with frontline staff.
The remarks come in the wake of intensified industrial action by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), which has led to critical disruptions in healthcare delivery across the country.
However, despite an appeal by Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh to resume talks, the GRNMA insists that the 2024 Collective Agreement must be implemented first.
The strike, which began on June 4, has forced many public health facilities to scale down operations, leaving patients stranded and emergency care overstretched. While the Ministry of Health maintains that negotiations are ongoing, the GRNMA argues that multiple deadlines for payments and postings have been missed.
Meanwhile, three key unions in tertiary education — the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG), and the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) — have also threatened a nationwide strike if government fails to pay their book and research allowances by June 13, 2025.
In a statement issued on Monday, June 9, the three unions expressed frustration over what they described as the “undue delay” in releasing the exchange rate required to compute their book and research allowances.
The unions warned that failure by the government to honour the June 13 deadline will be treated as an official strike notice, triggering industrial action across all affected campuses.
