Doctors End Strike Action…Resume Work On Wednesday
Members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), who embarked on a strike action that lasted for more than a month, have finally suspended their industrial action.
They are billed to return to work from Wednesday May 8, 2013.
General Secretary of the GMA, Dr Justice Yamson confirmed the news to Citi-Fm in an interview.
“The Ghana Medical Association has actually suspended the current withdrawal of services that we’ve been involved in for almost a month plus a few days now,” he indicated.
The GMA has been at daggers drawn with the Government over their grievances for the past one month. Members of the group were directed to lay down their tools following a National Executive Council meeting of the GMA in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi on Saturday April 6, 2013.
They accused the Government of showing little commitment toward addressing their concerns and went on strike to demand payment of their market premium arrears as well as their conversion difference allowances.
They also demanded a correction of anomalies in their pension contributions.
But an agreement reached between the Doctors and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission about a pay schedule which was ruled on by the National Labour Commission has ended the stand-off.
The NLC ruled that “members of the Ghana Medical Association are entitled to their conversion difference, and that government and Fair Wages for that matter, should look at some payment plan that the Ghana Medical Association had brought up and then negotiate on just the payment terms and report back to the Labour Commission within a month.”
“We are expecting government to comply… The ball is in the court of government and Fair Wages for that matter,…We are restoring our services but we are also expecting that the National labour Commission, this time round, will also enforce its directive or ruling if government decides not to abide by this particular directive.
If they have any disagreement with the timeliness for payment, then they will need to sit down with the Ghana Medical Association, then they will need to sit down with the Ghana Medical Association [and] come up with an alternate payment plan which should be submitted to the National Labour Commission within one month,” Dr Yamson said.
Source: Peacefmonline
