A private legal practitioner, Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers, has asked President John Dramani Mahama to honour the collective bargaining agreement signed between the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) and the Ministry of Health on May 20, 2024.
He said any attempt by the government to “bully” the nurses into renegotiating the collective bargaining agreement would only escalate the strike, leading to a total withdrawal of their essential services across the country.
“Your predecessor negotiated this agreement, so all you will have to do is implement it and not seek to vary it when the other party is visibly opposed to that,” Mr Brako-Powers said on TV3’s The Big Issue on June 6, 2025.
The GRNMA declared a nationwide strike over the non-implementation of the 2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement signed with the government a year ago.
The protest started with the wearing of red armbands and headbands from June 2 to 3 and was followed by the withdrawal of Outpatient Department (OPD) services from June 4 to 8, 2025.
Nurses across the country are expected to complete a service withdrawal on June 9, 2025.
The National Labour Commission (NLC) has secured an injunction after declaring the strike illegal and has directed the GRNMA to negotiate with the Ministry of Health.
Commenting on the development, Mr Brako-Powers quizzed what may have caused the delayed implementation five months into the new government’s four-year term.
“For five months, what are they [President Mahama’s government] waiting for?” he said, adding, “Don’t they [nurses] have a legitimate expectation?”
The lawyer and researcher in synthetic media said the government is looking for a way to renegotiate the agreement signed by its predecessor.
“The government is seeking to vary the agreement, but they don’t understand that this is subject to the acceptance of the other party to the agreement,” Mr Brako-Powers said.
