We're resuming duty with a heavy heart - Doctors

A senior member of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) Dr. Ernest Yorke has said doctors are resuming duty today with a heavy heart.

The doctors called off their three-week-old strike on Friday after pleas from the general public, chiefs and government.

The doctors are demanding codified conditions of service – a package they have been demanding for decades.

Ghana’s Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, is optimistic once negotiations are reopened today, Monday, August 24, per the directive of the National Labour Commission, a deal with the GMA is likely to be clinched by the end of October.

Speaking to Kafui Dey on the Morning Starr on Monday, Dr. Yorke, who is the President of the Greater Accra regional branch of the GMA, said they are returning to work out of the respect and compassion they have for their patients and Ghanaians.

“I must say that it is with a heavy heart that we have had to resume duty. We have listened to the general public and the many prominent institutions that have appealed to us.

“So this is the time for the NLC and the other bodies involved in the negotiation process to show their integrity and to prove to us that they are what they claim they are,” he stated.