Health workers in Greater Accra resume work

Accra, June 26, GNA - Members of the Health Workers Group (HWG), who embarked on a strike about three weeks ago to demand equity in their salary structure, resumed work on Monday.

Their strike action came during another industrial action of Doctors, who were demanding the implementation of a new salary structure and payment of arrears.


The health workers after hearing the package for doctors withdrew their services until their salaries were reviewed to clear all the discrepancies.


The representatives of national HWG in a dialogue with Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding, in which the Government said it would clear the discrepancies in three months but the Greater Accra branch rejected it.


A visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to Ridge Hospital saw Nurses and other health workers in their uniforms attending to patients.


The Out Patients Department (OPD) was filled with patients, who were waiting patiently to be attended to.

Mr Kwame Opoku, Health Administrator of the Hospital, said the new salary structure was in a process of transition and there was the need for health workers to exercise patience.


Mr Opoku urged members to rather ensure that they had their names correctly spelt on the pay voucher, with the correct grades and Social Security numbers to avert any eventuality again.


He noted that the nam es of some health workers were missing from the pay voucher while the grades of some of them had been raised, meaning "they will earn more than they should but such anomalies would be rectified after detection".


Children's block, Maternity and Surgical of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where Nurses in their uniform were busily attending to patients.


Other health workers at the Pharmacy, Blood Bank, Accounts and Laboratory were also seen working. 26 June 06