Richard Kofi Jordan, Basic Secretary of the Mortuary Employees Affiliation of Ghana (MOWAG), has raised issues over a big enhance within the variety of our bodies being acquired at mortuaries nationwide.
This improvement follows the continued industrial motion by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Affiliation (GRNMA).
Talking throughout an interview on Asempa FM on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, Jordan warned that if the strike persists, mortuary staff could also be left with no choice however to advise households to take the stays of deceased kin to police stations, as mortuary capacities are nearing exhaustion.
Jordan described the scenario as dire, attributing the rising variety of deaths to the nationwide withdrawal of providers by nurses and midwives:
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There is a surge within the variety of deaths recorded within the wake of the continued strike, particularly after the nurses launched into a complete withdrawal of their providers on Monday. Persons are dying extra throughout the nation. Wherever there are mortuaries, we’re recording excessive numbers of deaths.
He additional famous {that a} rising variety of these circumstances are usually not from hospitals however from houses, indicating a direct hyperlink to the unavailability of healthcare providers.
Although there’s a strike motion ongoing, lifeless our bodies which can be being dropped at the mortuaries have outnumbered those coming from the hospitals.
Lots of the circumstances are coming from houses as a substitute of hospitals. Those that are turned away from hospitals complain that as quickly as they obtained residence, their kin died. These are the tales we’re listening to, so in our minds, we imagine these deaths are a results of the strike motion.
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Jordan issued a stark warning relating to the worsening scenario and the restricted capability of mortuaries to accommodate extra our bodies:
We’re enduring immense stress following the strike. If care just isn’t taken and the strike continues for a number of extra days, we should announce to the general public that mortuaries are full. Therefore, if a relative dies, the physique ought to moderately be despatched to the police station.
What’s the mandate of the police? They’re to take care of peace, regulation, and order. And so, if we won’t deal with one thing and it’d get out of hand, it is higher at hand it over to the police for short-term safekeeping. The results of this strike are a critical challenge. In my private view, efforts ought to have been made to forestall this strike motion.
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His feedback spotlight the unintended however essential penalties of the continued industrial dispute, urging swift decision to keep away from additional public well being and logistical challenges.
Background of the Strike
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The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Affiliation commenced a nationwide strike on June 4, 2025. The strike was known as in response to the federal government’s failure to fulfil key obligations underneath their 2024 Collective Settlement.
Among the many points cited had been delays in cost of allowances, lack of performance-based incentives, and unmet guarantees relating to improved working circumstances for nurses and midwives throughout the nation.