Ghana’s National Identification Authority (NIA) is facing a potential industrial action from its workforce, as staff threaten to embark on a strike from May 13, 2026, over delays in the approval and implementation of migration reports tied to their conditions of service.
The warning was issued by the Public Services Workers’ Union in a letter dated May 6, addressed to the National Labour Commission and the NIA, escalating what has become a prolonged administrative and financial impasse within the authority.
At the centre of the dispute is a staff migration process linked to an approved Scheme of Service, which was sanctioned in July 2024 and initiated in December 2024. The exercise was intended to formally restructure staff placements, adjust salaries, and address outstanding promotions within the institution.
However, according to the union, despite the completion of the migration process and submission of reports, implementation has stalled at the level of the Ministry of Finance, which has yet to grant approval for the necessary payments and adjustments.
“Twenty-two months since the approval of the Scheme of Service… the Ministry of Finance is yet to grant approval for payment of staff,” the union noted, adding that repeated engagements with management and stakeholders had not yielded results.
The union argues that the delay has left workers without proper placement, corresponding salary adjustments, and long-overdue promotions, creating growing dissatisfaction within the workforce and threatening what it described as a previously stable industrial environment.
The development highlights recurring tensions within Ghana’s public sector reform and compensation systems, where policy approvals at institutional level do not always translate into timely fiscal execution.
While management has assured the union that follow-ups are ongoing, workers say they can no longer wait indefinitely and have resolved to proceed with industrial action if approvals are not secured by the stated deadline.
If the strike proceeds, it could disrupt key national identification services, including services that underpin both public administration and parts of the country’s growing digital economy.
