Unpaid Nurses Arrears Protest as Workers Reject Salary Offer

The issue of Unpaid Nurses Arrears has exploded into the public spotlight as nurses and midwives across Ghana reject a one-month salary payment made in November 2025. After working 11–12 months without pay, they say this offer is not relief but a painful insult. The growing Unpaid Nurses Arrears protest is now a national test of how Ghana values its frontline health workers.

In a press release issued on December 2, 2025, the Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives, Ghana, described the one-month payment as “not relief but an insult,” and demanded the full settlement of all Unpaid Nurses Arrears without delay. Their statement has been widely circulated and referenced by outlets such as Citi Newsroom, adding urgency to the conversation.

Understanding the Unpaid Nurses Arrears Crisis

The Unpaid Nurses Arrears crisis affects nurses and midwives who received postings and assumed duty between January 2024 and early 2025, but went nearly a full year without receiving their salaries. Despite this, they continued providing care in hospitals, clinics, and community facilities across the country.

This crisis is unfolding at a time when Ghana’s health system is already under severe pressure. As GSN has reported in 13,500 Nurses Recruitment: 5 Strategic Impacts on Ghana’s Health System and Ghana Health Workforce Crisis: GHS6bn Needed as 180,000 Face Unemployment by 2028 , the country is struggling to balance unemployment among trained nurses with shortages in critical facilities. The Unpaid Nurses Arrears dispute highlights how fragile that balance has become.

One-Month Payment: A Painful Reminder in the Unpaid Nurses Arrears Battle

In November 2025, the government finally paid one month’s salary to affected staff. While some saw this as a small step, the Coalition views it as far from adequate, given the scale of the Unpaid Nurses Arrears. For workers who have survived almost a year without income, a single month’s pay feels symbolic rather than meaningful.

The press release details how nurses facing Unpaid Nurses Arrears have endured debt, eviction threats, hunger, and psychological stress. For many, the one-month payment has become a “painful reminder” of neglect rather than a solution. The Coalition states bluntly that this gesture is “an insult to the nursing and midwifery fraternity.”

Demands for Full Settlement of Unpaid Nurses Arrears

The Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives has outlined clear demands regarding the Unpaid Nurses Arrears crisis:

• A written payment plan from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance covering all Unpaid Nurses Arrears, to be delivered by the first week of December 2025.
• Full payment of all outstanding Unpaid Nurses Arrears with no delays beyond December 2025.

They emphasize that this is not about favours or political goodwill but about workers being paid for work already done. For the Coalition, the only acceptable outcome is the complete clearance of the Unpaid Nurses Arrears backlog.

Stakeholder Support in the Unpaid Nurses Arrears Struggle

Despite the frustration, the Coalition expressed gratitude to key stakeholders who have supported the Unpaid Nurses Arrears campaign. They thanked:

• The Ministry of Health
• Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA)
• Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives, Ghana (UPNMG)
• Media houses, bloggers, and social commentators
• The Ghanaian public for amplifying their voices

According to the Coalition, public solidarity has forced the nation to confront the reality of Unpaid Nurses Arrears and pushed authorities to act, even if the solutions offered so far remain incomplete.

The Human Impact of Unpaid Nurses Arrears

Behind the term Unpaid Nurses Arrears lie the personal stories of thousands of professionals who have spent months simply trying to survive. Many have:

• Borrowed money from relatives, friends, and lenders at high interest rates
• Faced threats of eviction due to unpaid rent
• Struggled to afford food and transportation to work
• Experienced anxiety, depression, and emotional burnout

Yet, even while dealing with Unpaid Nurses Arrears, they continued to report to duty—caring for patients in wards, emergency rooms, theatres, maternity units, and rural outreach campaigns. The Coalition argues that this level of sacrifice deserves more than token payments and vague promises.

Government Response to the Unpaid Nurses Arrears Issue

Officials at the Ministry of Health have attributed delays in resolving Unpaid Nurses Arrears to payroll verification, data cleaning, and financial clearance processes. They insist that efforts are underway to clean up the system and ensure that payments going forward are accurate and sustainable.

However, from the perspective of those affected by Unpaid Nurses Arrears, the explanations do little to ease day-to-day suffering. The absence of a clear and binding timeline for full payment continues to erode trust.

The Broader Implications of Unpaid Nurses Arrears

The Unpaid Nurses Arrears protest is not just a labour dispute; it is a warning sign for Ghana’s entire health system. Long delays in paying frontline workers risk:

• Accelerating the migration of nurses and midwives to countries with better pay and conditions
• Deepening morale problems in already strained facilities
• Undermining public confidence in healthcare delivery
• Discouraging young people from entering or staying in the profession

Ghana is at a point where every decision about Unpaid Nurses Arrears carries long-term consequences. If handled poorly, the crisis could trigger a new wave of brain drain, leaving hospitals and clinics even more understaffed.

What Happens Next in the Unpaid Nurses Arrears Protest?

As December progresses, attention is firmly on the Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Finance. The Coalition has stated that while it is open to productive dialogue, it will not back down from its core demand: full settlement of all Unpaid Nurses Arrears.

Any failure to honour the promised written plan or to clear arrears within the expected timeline risks triggering further actions and deepening mistrust between health workers and the state.

Unpaid Nurses Arrears Must Be Addressed Urgently

The Unpaid Nurses Arrears crisis is more than a payroll error; it is a reflection of systemic weaknesses in how Ghana manages and values its health workforce. Nurses and midwives have made it clear that one month’s salary after a year of unpaid work is unacceptable.

As the Unpaid Nurses Arrears protest continues, the world is watching to see whether Ghana will respond with fairness, transparency, and urgency—or allow the crisis to push more health professionals away from the very system that desperately needs them.