The Vice President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Samuel Alagkora Akologo, has warned that the government must bear full responsibility for any loss of life during the ongoing nationwide strike by nurses and midwives.

His comments followed a closed-door emergency meeting held on Monday, June 9, between the Ministry of Health and GRNMA leadership.

The meeting was intended to resolve the deadlock over the delayed implementation of the 2024 Collective Agreement.

Despite hopes for progress, discussions ended in a stalemate, with government representatives citing budgetary constraints as the main obstacle to honouring the agreed conditions.

Officials proposed pushing implementation of the agreement to 2026, a suggestion the association firmly rejected.

In an interview with Citi FM after the meeting, Mr Akologo expressed strong disappointment, saying the government’s handling of the situation shows a disregard for the welfare of health workers. He stressed that the current crisis only reinforces what the association has been warning about.

"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,” he said.

Mr Akologo also criticised what he described as the dismissive attitude of government officials during negotiations, claiming the meeting confirmed the association’s fears that the agreed conditions would not be honoured.
“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,” he said.