Doctors must retire on full salary – Ghana Medical Assoc. demands

Doctors deserve to retire on their full salary, the Ghana Medical Association has said.

Speaking at the 65th General Meeting of the Association on Monday, 13 November 2023, GMA President Frank Serebour said: 'Our pensions must be secure after we have sacrificed our bodies, minds, and souls in our service".

Also, he said: "We require adequate logistics and an enabling environment to maintain our mental and physical well-being so that we can effectively care for the population".

"Retirement on a full salary is not an unreasonable demand", he noted. Dr Serebour added: "The vehicle importation tax waiver for health workers should be reinstated immediately."

He said: "We should not be made to pay the ultimate price of losing our lives and homes in our quest to care for the vulnerable", insisting: "Someone must care for the health worker".

"Our reward is not in heaven but here on planet Earth. What we are asking for is not an impossibility. We appreciate some urgency from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission," he demanded.

Dr Sereniur warned: "Any delays will not be tolerated, and we will demand the full implementation of any agreed-upon terms to be effective in January 2024".

"Even as we negotiate, the existing conditions of service are still in force; hence the implementation of any aspect of the document that becomes due will be demanded by the GMA, as was done for the non-basic allowance", Dr Serebour imdicated.

At the meeting, Deputy Finance Minister Abena Osei Asare said: "I want to assure you that we have made some progress and very soon the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission will be calling a meeting to kick-start the operationalization of your new conditions of service".