Negotiations with Government successful; Improved Conditions of Service for Nurses and midwives in Ghana – FWSC
Accra, Ghana – The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has signed a new agreement with the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) on improved conditions of service for nurses and midwives across the country.
This two-year agreement aims to address the concerns raised by the GRNMA and improve the overall well-being of nurses and midwives in Ghana.
Background:
Earlier this year, the GRNMA, led by President Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, expressed dissatisfaction with the existing conditions of service for nurses and midwives in Ghana. Compared to their counterparts in other countries, Ghanaian nurses faced lower salaries and limited opportunities for career progression and further education. This situation was identified as a major factor contributing to the brain drain in the health sector, with experienced nurses leaving Ghana to seek better opportunities abroad.
Negotiations and Outcome:
The GRNMA actively negotiated with the government to improve these conditions.
According to the president, this was difficult yet they kept pushing. While the government could not introduce entirely new allowances, they agreed to enhance the existing collective agreement thus the 2020 collective agreement.
the allowances in the 2020 collective agreement have now been revised with new and better ones.
She is also happy the government will be implementing the Book and Research allowance.
This newly signed agreement represents a significant step forward in addressing the concerns of nurses and midwives.
Expected Impact:
The improved conditions of service are expected to:
- Increase job satisfaction and motivation among nurses and midwives.
- Help retain experienced professionals within the Ghanaian healthcare system.
- Attract new talent to the nursing and midwifery professions.
- Ultimately improve the quality of healthcare delivery in Ghana.
The FWSC Boss said, he is happy with the maturity shown by the Associations in these negotiations and says other unions should learn from them.
Earlier
“The situation of remuneration and other conditions of service cannot be the same with other countries but currently, we are on the negotiation table, we are negotiating our conditions of service, the collective agreement that is in force now expired and we are negotiating it.
“We have made several proposals to the employer to say that this is what we deserve as nurses and midwives. If we can get them it will help us retain our nurses, those who are eager to migrate outside. It will also help us in motivating us to also do our work.”
Earlier, Madam Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo admitted that the brain drain in the health sector is hurting healthcare delivery in Ghana.
She has therefore called for an urgent intervention to ensure that this matter is resolved.
She explained that experienced nurses who would have been training newly recruited nurses are the ones leaving the shores of Ghana to seek better working conditions elsewhere.
Madam Ofori-Ampofo indicated that the nurses want an environment that will help them in their career progression, further studies, and also better salaries and remunerations hence, their decision to travel outside the country to pursue these interests.
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