GMA will respect deadline for payment of allowances - NEC

Accra, Nov. 30, GNA - The January 31, 2011 deadline set by the Natio= nal Labour Commission (NLC) for payment On-Call-Duty Facilitation Allowance across board to all doctors would be respected by the association. This is contained in a communiqu=E9 issued by the National Executive=

Council (NEC) of Ghana Medical Association (GMA) copied, GNA on Tuesday. The statement which sought to address the issue of the On-Call-Duty Facilitation Allowance, said: "No piecemeal payment would be accepted and=

that all doctors should be paid in full including arrears by January 31, 2011. "The GMA wants to state categorically that, no further negotiations on this matter would be entertained nor warning issued prior to any industri= al actions being taken after the deadline, should the Government fail to eff= ect full payment. All members of GMA are entreated to exercise restraint". The communiqu=E9 said the Government was called upon to pay all outstanding On-Call-Duty Facilitation Allowance by November 30, to forest= all any industrial unrest."

Following the communiqu=E9, series of meetings were held between the=

Ministry of Health and GMA at the instance of the NLC. The statement said: "the NLC had since directed in a letter dated November 19, 2010 Ref. NLC/37/2010/65 that, the Ministry of Health should=

pay across board 10 per cent of basic salary as On-Call-Duty Facilitation=

Allowance to all doctors by the end of January 31, 2011. "At an emergency NEC meeting of the GMA held on November 30, 2010 t= o deliberate on the matter, mindful of the fact that several rulings of the=

NLC had not been respected by the Government in the past, but taking into=

consideration several other factors and acting in good faith, the NEC too= k the decision," it added.