The Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives Ghana has urged the government to immediately probe and restore salary arrears it says were removed from its members’ payment vouchers without any payment being made.

In a statement signed by its Convener, Stephen Kwadwo Takyi, the coalition explained that several affected members had their salary arrears validated on the government payroll system each month, although the monies were not paid.

The group noted that during the latest validation in February 2026, the accumulated arrears suddenly disappeared from their payment vouchers.

“We call on the Government of Ghana to act swiftly to investigate this anomaly, restore and pay all unlawfully removed arrears without delay to avoid any action from us,” part of the statement read.

The coalition further stated that when the matter was brought into the public domain, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department denied the claims.

It, however, maintained that its payroll validators and human resource officers across various health facilities have confirmed that the arrears were cleared from the payment vouchers of the affected nurses and midwives without any corresponding payment.

“Our questions are: who authorized the removal of our legitimately earned arrears and on what legal or administrative basis were these arrears cleared?” the coalition queried in the statement.

In 2025, members of the Rotational Nurses and Midwives Association of Ghana complained that they had been working without receiving financial clearance, depriving members of their allowance.

National President of the Association, Ebenezer Boateng, made this known at a press briefing on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 while noting the economic difficulties over hundreds of rotational health workers have had to face.

In his delivery, he bemoaned the inactivity of the Health Ministry in ensuring their allowances are paid.

“We’ve been diligently working since May 2024—almost a full year – without receiving financial clearance, thereby depriving us of our rightful allowances.

“These repeated delays reflect a broader pattern of neglect that has persisted for over four years, with little to no meaningful intervention from the Ministry of Health.”

Members of GRNMA on June 2 withdrew from their posts over delays in their 2024 Collective Agreement. In response, the National Labour Commission (NLC) filed an ex parte application on Thursday, June 5.

A 10-day injunction was placed on the nationwide strike after the Industrial and Labour Division of the High Court in Accra described the protest as illegal.

The GRNMA disclosed that it was yet to formally receive a court order restraining its ongoing strike. Public Relations Officer of the GRNMA, Joseph Krampah, insisted that the group was proceeding with the strike until an official injunction notice was served.

Health Minister Mintah Akandoh, on the matter, revealed that the government waas unable to meet the conditions of service for the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), currently on strike, this year.

Engaging the press, the sector minister announced that the conditions of service being requested to be implemented were not captured in the 2025 budget statement; hence, it will "completely throw the economy off gear if implemented in the manner it currently exists."

"We are mindful of the serious economic consequences of unbudgeted expenditure and want to avoid the economic slippages that have led to the hardship in the recent past," the Health Minister revealed.

The Minority in Parliament entreated the government to put in the necessary measures to ensure the strike action was called off.

Dr Afriyie Ayew told the government to work towards providing the conditions of service worked on by the previous government.

“It is our belief that governance is a continuous process regardless of which party is in government public servants are paid, collective bargaining rights which are agreed on remain their rights regardless of which government takes over after elections.”

The nationwide strike by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) took a heavy toll on the delivery of healthcare services, with many lives being lost due to patients being stranded.

The Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) bemoaned the evident rise in mortality cases amid the ongoing strike by nurses and midwives in the country.

General Secretary of MOWAG, Richard Kofi Jordan, noted that the death rate has increased by approximately 100% to 150% due to nurses not being at post.

“Looking at the [number] of deaths compared to the past and now, the death toll has increased significantly, and it is not surprising because of the impact of the nurse’s absence. On average, where we are to record about 10 a day, we are recording about 20 to 25. This tells you that the absence of our nurses is becoming so severe,” he said.

Making reference to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, he mentioned that “we know averagely in Korle Bu, you can have about 50 this time. It has risen above that. Other facilities (like) KATH and all that, we are hearing it.”

According to him, the nurses who are no longer at their posts were mitigating the daily death rate across medical facilities in Accra.