John AdoyiGhana’s National Identification Authority (NIA) has suspended its indefinite nationwide strike, paving the way for the full resumption of Ghana Card services on Monday, 30 June 2025.
This decision comes after nearly a week of disruption to the country’s identity system, which affected services such as new registrations, card replacements, data updates, and card collections.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe strike, which began on Tuesday, 24 June, was led by the NIA staff under the umbrella of the Public Services Workers’ Union (PSWU). At the heart of the dispute was a long-standing demand for the payment of the Operational Support Allowance—an entitlement the workers argued had been repeatedly delayed by the Ministry of Finance. Despite months of negotiations, no resolution had been reached, prompting the union to embark on an indefinite industrial action that brought operations at NIA centres across the country to a standstill.
The suspension of the strike followed intense negotiations involving key stakeholders, including the National Labour Commission, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the leadership of the PSWU. According to a statement issued by the NIA’s Corporate Affairs Directorate, the strike was called off after the parties agreed on a clear roadmap for addressing the workers’ demands. Amongst the key agreements was the commencement of allowance payments by the NIA itself in July 2025, whilst arrears covering the first half of the year and further scheduled payments will be handled by the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department in September.
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The end of the strike is significant for several reasons. At the domestic level, it restores a critical national function: the issuance and management of the Ghana Card, a biometric ID used for everything from accessing healthcare and financial services to registering SIM cards and voting. The disruption had raised concerns not just amongst citizens but also amongst businesses and institutions that rely on the Ghana Card as a foundational identity document.
The peaceful and structured negotiations also demonstrate the country’s capacity for institutional dialogue—an important signal for a region where public-sector strikes often drag on with little resolution.
While suspending the strike, the union made it clear that it expects the government to fully honour its commitments and within the agreed timelines and warned that the industrial action could resume if expectations are not met.
For now, however, millions of Ghanaians can once again access identity services starting 30 June, bringing relief to those who had been stranded by the work stoppage.
