Accra, Nov.4, GNA – The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has signed an agreement with signatories at the Ministry of Health over the conditions of service of members of the Association.
The need for agreement became pertinent after the Association embarked on a strike on September 21, 2020, to demand for improved and better conditions of service.
Among other things, the Association asked for were allowances for rent, uniform, transport, and professional development, arguing that it would help to address pertinent needs and improve the lives of the nurses and their service delivery.
However, the Association on September 23, 2020, called off the strike after the National Labour Commission (NLA) secured an injunction against the strike.
Mrs Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, the President of the Association, who disclosed this at a news conference in Accra, said having called off the strike and gone back to the negotiation table, the Association used the period of four weeks as directed by the NLC to continue the negotiations and reach an agreement on October 21, 2020.
She said the agreement was tabled at the NLC on October 28, 2020, as the Commission had directed but unfortunately, the document could not be signed as the signatories were unavailable.
“…Although we are not wholly satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations, we are holding onto what we have been able to get for now and take advantage of our next negotiation to make proposals for consideration by the Employer,” she said.
Mrs Ofori-Ampofo called on all Nurses and Midwives to note that their collective agreement with the employer went beyond the non-core category 2&3 for which they had to embark on an industrial action and that the agreement document contained the details of their conditions of service.
She also said the core category 2&3 allowances negotiated and signed on August 28, 2020, also covered all nurses and midwives and formed part of their collective agreement.
“We are going to use our structure to educate the general membership on what we have attained in the negotiations and how the implementation will be,” she added.
The GRNMA President said the Association would engage the leadership at the regional and district levels to educate them on the content of the documents so that they would be in a better position to educate members.
“We, therefore, call on the entire membership to remain calm and call on their district and regional leaders for any information related to our conditions of service and refrain from consuming inaccurate and incomplete information that is already being circulated on social media.
“We are grateful to all members for your continued support and ask that you continue in the same vain and trust that we have your welfare at heart more than anything else,” she said.
GNA