Doctors will not rescind decision until grievances are met

Accra, Oct. 10, GNA - The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) on Monday said it would not rescind its decision on the nationwide strike action unti= l the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission had met grievances of doctors. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in a telephone interview, Dr Kwabena Opoku Adusei, Vice President of the GMA, said the members would continue to stay away as directed until the distortions in the grading structures of th= e Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), issues of unscientific determination of market premium and inducement by the FWSC were resolved.

The GMA has complained about the inability of the FWSC to provide unequivocal evidence of migration of doctors onto the SSSS and the ambiguou= s stance of the Single Spine Salary Secretariat on the positions of District Directors of Health Service and Medical Superintendents. It therefore gave the FWSC up to October 7 to meet their conditions or they lay down their tools. Dr Opoku Edusei expressed concern about the inability of the FWSC to acknowledge receipts of all letters written by then GMA on the inducement and market value, adding, 93This clearly shows that they are not willing t= o listen to us".

In a separate interview, Ms Eva Addo, Director in charge of Salaries Grading, Regrading and Job Evaluation at the FWSC, said it was unfortunate that the GMA had embarked on a strike action when it had not exhausted the outcomes of the meeting with the National Labour Commission (NLC)). "NLC, a couple of weeks ago, decided to resolve the dispute between FWSC and the GMA by compulsory arbitration as provided for under Section 16= 2 of the Labour Act and decided that the dispute be resolved by compulsory arbitration as provided for under Section 162 of the Labour Act". Ms Addo indicated that GMA's request of discussing the market value and its sustainability were negotiable but could not be assured by the Commission, adding 93whilst we have not even finished discussing that they have embarked on a strike action".

He said the Commission was still working around the clock to ensure th= e payment of salaries of doctors by the end of October. A visit to Ridge hospital, Adabraka Polyclinic and Korle-Bu Teaching Hospitals saw doctors attending to only old cases.