FWSC blames internal wrangling for delay in nurses’ conditions of service

The Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), George Smith-Graham, says internal quarreling within the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) is the cause for the delay in implementing their conditions of service.

This comes on the back of an emergency closed-door meeting held on Monday, June 9, involving the Ministry of Health, GRNMA leadership, and other key stakeholders.

According to reports, the meeting ended without a resolution.

The GRNMA declared a strike earlier this week to demand the implementation of its 2024 Collective Agreement, which includes concerns over unpaid allowances and delayed postings of its members.

“Clearly, they know themselves that the delay in the implementation of the conditions of service had nothing to do with the government. It had to do with their internal wrangling that brought about the injunction on the implementation of their conditions of service,” Mr. Smith-Graham disclosed on Citi Eyewitness News.

“When that happened, we quickly came in because the conditions of service are going to expire just next year. So, we as a Commission came in to request some agreement on the implementation date and the expiry of the conditions of service,” Smith-Graham noted.

“That is why we put before them a proposal to attempt to shift the implementation date of the conditions of service. For the rest of the conditions of service, we have agreed. All we were looking for was a shift in the implementation date so that they can enjoy the full benefit of the conditions of service, and also the government will have some fiscal space to be able to implement the conditions of service fully for them.”

Mr. Smith-Graham has also refuted assertions that the government had delayed the process.