The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has strongly rejected the Health Ministry’s appeal for retired nurses to return to work during the ongoing strike, with General Secretary David Tekorang describing the request as “laughable” in a blistering critique.
Speaking to GHOne TV, Tekorang pulled no punches: “That is laughable, to say the least. If you meet a retired nurse and attempt to hold a conversation, she will tell you the kind of pain they are having right now.
“My brother, how can you pay a retired nurse 100,000 Ghana cedis for having served for 49 years? And when she’s home, you are asking the person to come back – strike breaker?
“I’m not too sure they will be ready to do that.” The scathing remarks came hours after Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh’s Tuesday appeal for retired healthcare professionals to volunteer during the industrial action that has brought Ghana’s medical services to their knees.
The GRNMA strike, now entering its second week over unresolved salary and working condition disputes, has left hospitals understaffed and patients stranded. Tekorang’s comments highlight the bitter irony of asking undercompensated retirees to bail out a system that failed to properly reward their decades of service.
His reference to the meager 100,000 cedis pension payout for 49 years of work – just 2,040 cedis annually – underscores the depth of discontent among medical professionals.
The standoff shows no signs of resolution, with the GRNMA maintaining its hardline position and the government scrambling for stopgap measures.
