Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues on June 8, 2025, NARM-GH President Leticia Asaaba Atiah made it clear that midwives had not endorsed the industrial action.
“We are not in support of the strike because the due process wasn’t completed,” she stated.
According to Atiah, her association was removed from the GRNMA’s bargaining group without consultation, a move she described as unlawful and undemocratic.
“…But they [GRNMA] can’t legally do that. Nurses shouldn’t bargain for midwives,” she asserted, emphasizing the need for midwives to have their own bargaining voice.
She further explained that NARM-GH had not yet engaged the Finance Minister in negotiations, which she believes should have been the next step before any strike action.
“We think that we should go back and negotiate,” she added.
Highlighting the consequences of their lack of autonomy, Atiah said, “If we had our own bargaining certificate, we wouldn’t all be on strike. We could’ve still been working while the nurses are on strike.”
In a broader critique of the healthcare system, she addressed issues related to health insurance, pointing out that while nurses under SSNIT receive health insurance benefits, many essential procedures and medications are not covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Most notably, she stressed the vital and often overlooked role of midwives:
“Midwives shouldn’t be under nurses or taken for granted. We attend to more than one life at any given time—mother and baby(ies).”
