The Upper East Regional branch of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has urged managers of public healthcare facilities in the Region to direct their attacks to the employer and not its members.

The leadership of the Association in the Region said: “We are also picking signals that some managers are beginning to send intimidating messages to nurses and midwives in respect of the strike action. In this light, we urge all managers to direct their attacks to the employer and not our members”.

The GRNMA is demanding better conditions of services from the Government and hopes the strike action would send the message and trigger an immediate response.

It described its decision to embark on the strike action as “painful,” but, “we collectively resolve to take this difficult decision at this trying moment in our chosen profession, but united we stand, divided we fall.”

The GRNMA made the call on Managers in a letter jointly signed by Mr Thomas Lambon, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the Association and its Regional Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Panzin Tibil.

The letter referenced a press statement issued on September 17, and jointly signed by Presidents of the GRNMA, the Ghana Physician Assistants Association, and the Ghana Association of Registered Anaesthetists.

The Regional leadership stated that “the Regional Executive Council wishes to state emphatically that the region fully supports the action taken by the National Council to serve the interest of every nurse and midwives in the country.”

The letter further reminded members of the GRNMA that the Association was the sole mouthpiece of all nurses and midwives in Ghana, and held the collective bargaining power to negotiate for conditions of service for its members and allied Associations.

“Sadly as it appears, there is a press release purported to be speaking for a section of midwives, urging them to dissociate themselves from the course charted by the GRNMA to salvage our members.”

The Regional branch of the Association urged all nurses and midwives in the Region to remain resolute and comply with the directive of the press statement jointly issued by the leadership of the three Associations.

When the GNA contacted Mr Lambon on the intended strike action, he said the Regional branch of the Association had not received any formal communication from the national leadership of the GRNMA to call off their intended strike action tomorrow, September 21, saying “until we get any communications, we are going by our national leaders.”

Several allied Associations of the GRNMA including the Nurses and Midwives Specialists Society of Ghana (NMSSG) had also declared support for the intended strike action.

The National President of the NMSSG, Mr Mark Anthony Azongo, and the National Secretary, Mr Raphael Edem Kudzo Korkortsi, in a letter dated September 18, said: “We recognise the good efforts of the mother Association, GRNMA, in the fight for the condition of service and their contributions in promoting nurses and midwives Specialists training in Ghana.”

The NMSSG leadership urged its members to abide by the directive of the GRNMA on the strike action and called on the government to re-engage leadership of the GRNMA and agree on allowances that meet the economic needs of all nurses and midwives.