The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations wants the striking nurses and midwives to immediately call off the industrial action and avail themselves for negotiations to continue.
In an interview with Citi News, a Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wereko Brobbey, noted that the government has set tomorrow [Wednesday] for a return to the negotiation table with the aggrieved health personnel.
He urged the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) be patient as they demand improved conditions of service.
Nurses, midwives, Physician Assistants (PAs) and Anaesthetists (CRAs) in the public sector withdrew their services from Monday, September 21.
“These matters are not resolved by one ministry… so we need to sit down and look at it. It is not a one-off. That is why sometimes it takes time,” Mr. Brobbey said.
“They must take governments word that we are so passionate about this team of workers, and we will be the last to see that they suffer,” he assured.
Mr. Brobbey further urged the nurses to consider the plight of nurses in rural areas who don’t have the alternative of private health centres.
The strike left many patients stranded nationwide because of the absence of health personnel.
“When you go to the rural areas, this thing will hit them hard. When you go to the hinterland, where are they going?”
Meanwhile, a Labour Analyst, Senyo Adjabeng, has also urged the striking nurses to dialogue to find a lasting solution to the challenges.
“They have to quickly call off the strike, respond to the court order and injunction to call off the strike, go back to the negotiation table and use the lawful process of compulsory arbitration,” he advised.
Mr. Adjabeng also warned that for casualties recorded while the industrial action was in force “the executives can be held liable and our labour law provides that.”
Source: citinewsroom.com
