Nurses to resume work today - Labour Commission

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has indicated that the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) will be withdrawing from its one day strike to resume work today.

According to the NLC, regardless of the GRNMA dodging their ‘Personal Service’, they (NLC) have been able to get the go-ahead from the courts to ‘Substitute Service’.

Speaking in an interview with Sefa Kwadwo Danquah, who sat in for Afrifa-Mensah on Happy 98.9 FM’s Epa Hoa Daben show, Ofosu Asamoah, Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission said, “The GRNMA has been dodging us for a while now. We have been to their offices on over six (6) occasions but to no avail. We then went back to the courts to get a Substitute Service which we are circulating now. We have served the security officer at their premises and have pasted this notice on their walls.”

The Executive Secretary of the NLC believes with this action taken, the GRNMA will be present for the sit down between both parties tomorrow at 10 am and reach a consensus.

He reiterated that the nurses and other health personnel involved in the strike action will return to work tomorrow after their issues have been resolved and noted that the government has already agreed to six (6) out of the eight (8) demands of the GRNMA.

Explaining why the NLC obtained an interlocutory injunction against the GRNMA, restraining it from embarking on their proposed strike, yesterday, Ofosu Asamoah indicated that the association did not follow the right process. “We just heard they were going on strike when they had not even sat down with us and that is why we placed an injunction on them.

The NLC last Friday obtained an interlocutory injunction against the GRNMA, restraining it from embarking on the proposed strike, which began yesterday.

“It said the injunction against the strike was for 10 days, and upon its expiration, the applicants are to come back to court on notice,” the statement issued in Accra added.

The GRNMA last Thursday announced its decision to withdraw its services, effective today, to press home its demand for improved conditions of service.

In a statement, the association alleged that the government’s stance during negotiations fell foul of Act 651 of the Labour Law, which deals with issues of good faith and which the association appears to also have an issue with.

The announcement, which was signed by the presidents of the GRNMA, the Ghana Physician Assistants Association and the Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anesthetists, directed the public to seek medical attention from other health facilities.