Government to meet Ghana Medical Association over strike

The Ministry of Health is expected to meet the leadership of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) over a planned strike.

Public Relations Officer of the ministry, Robert Cudjoe, said on Monday, 30 July that an emergency meeting has been scheduled for either the same day or Tuesday, to deal with the doctors’ issues.

The doctors threatened an indefinite strike, effective Monday, 6 August 2018, until a list of their demands are met by government.

All doctors in the public sector will withdraw their outpatient services until August 19 and heighten the industrial action by withdrawing emergency services from 20 August until 27 August when they declare a full-blown strike if their demands are still not met.

The GMA arrived at this decision at their 4th National Executive Council meeting held at Jirapa in the Upper West Region from 27 – 28 July 2018.

According to the GMA, the issue of doctors having suffered reduced pensions following their migration onto the single spine pay policy; and non-payment of conversion differences, is still outstanding since December 2011, in spite of the NLC’s compulsory arbitration award which binds both parties and subsequent directive from the NLC to government to correct same.

The GMA also accused government of not fully implementing their condition of service document signed in October 2015.

The Association also bemoaned the “inequitable distribution of critical healthcare staff which has resulted in most deprived communities not receiving the desired standard of care.”

They are calling on government to consider the incentive packages recommended by the GMA at its Annual General Conference held in Tamale in November 2010.

Mr Cudjoe told Chief Jerry Forson on Ghana Yensom that the government has received the concerns of the doctors, adding that: “Government won’t sit down unconcerned for the strike to start, and, so, today or tomorrow we are going to hold a crunch meeting with the leadership of the GMA to discuss the issues with them.

“Already, the Minister of Health has assured that the cost of the post-graduate training for doctors will be borne by the government, and, so, some actions are being taken on their demands.”