After weeks of anticipation and a unilateral postponement by the government, the long-awaited meeting between the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health finally convened on 10 July 2025 at Parliament House, concluding at 2:00 p.m.
Present at this critical meeting were representatives from the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), and the host, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health.
During the discussions, the Minister of Health outlined the government’s stance on the GRNMA’s demands, stating that only the Book and Research Allowance and the Uniform Allowance would be included in the upcoming mid-year budget.
This announcement was met with disappointment from the GRNMA, which described the position as “profoundly unacceptable.”
In a press briefing, GRNMA President Mrs. Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo expressed the Association’s strong dissatisfaction, stating that the decision reinforced their longstanding concern that the government continues to deprioritize the welfare of nurses and midwives in Ghana.
She urged the government to reconsider its position and include the remaining two urgent allowances — the 8% Non-Basic Allowance and the Fuel Allowance — in the mid-year budget.
She emphasized that the Association’s presence at the meeting was necessitated by a troubling precedent: the government’s failure to honor the Collective Agreement during the transition from the previous administration.
“This agreement was never intended to become a point of contention,” she stated.
Mrs. Ofori-Ampofo also criticized the exclusion of the Collective Agreement’s financial provisions from the national budget presented on 11 March 2025, despite earlier government assurances.
Further exacerbating the situation, she noted that a small group within the nursing and midwifery community had initiated unnecessary legal disputes, jeopardizing the welfare of nearly 125,000 nurses and midwives across the country.
The GRNMA National Council issued the following key declarations:
1. The rationale for excluding the 8% Non-Basic Allowance and Fuel Allowance is indefensible. The GRNMA leadership will engage the FWSC at a follow-up meeting on Tuesday, 15 July 2025, to push for the inclusion of these items in the mid-year budget.
2. All remaining items in Appendix B of the Collective Agreement must be included in the 2026 national budget, scheduled for presentation in November 2025.
3. Future actions by the GRNMA will depend on the outcome of the 15 July meeting. The Association demands sincere engagement and warns of further action if concerns remain unaddressed.
Mrs. Ofori-Ampofo concluded by thanking the Chairman, Ranking Member, and Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health for their efforts toward resolving the impasse.
“To our dedicated nurses and midwives across the nation, we express our profound appreciation for your unwavering solidarity. We remain united and steadfast in advocating for your rights — now and in the future,” she affirmed
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