Govt, GMA to continue negotiations today

Negotiations on conditions of service for public sector doctors will continue today, in spite of the strike announced by the Ghana Medical Association (GMA).
 
A Ministry of Health source told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the government had not abandoned the discussions with the leadership of the GMA, adding that the dialogue would continue, with the view to reaching a common ground.

The GMA, on Wednesday night, announced the beginning of an industrial action, starting with the withdrawal of services at the outpatients departments (OPD) of public hospitals.

According to the association, the decision was taken after final negotiations with the government on its conditions of service ended in a stalemate.

Consequently, the GMA decided to follow the road map it drew for the mass resignation of its members, which began with the withdrawal of OPD services.

Presently, there are 2,064 public service doctors in the country, made up of medical directors, officers, consultants, specialists and superintendents.

The doctors are demanding on-call-duty facilitation of 20 per cent of their basic salary; accommodation, 40 per cent of their basic salary; fuel for house officers (80 gallons per month); fuel for specialists (90 gallons per month); fuel for consultants (100 gallons per month) and clothing allowance, 30 per cent of basic salary.

Additionally, the GMA is asking for utility allowance of 20 per cent of their basic salary per month; special risk allowance of 25 per cent of basic salary per month; professional allowance of 50 per cent of their basic salary per month and vehicle maintenance allowance of 20 per cent of their basic salary per month.

The group is also asking for clothing allowance of 30 per cent of their basic salary and an increment in their overtime allowance from 40 hours per week to 200 hours per week.

They are again asking for a waiver on the importation of vehicles, fully paid postgraduate medical education, fully paid continuous professional development sanctioned by the Medical and Dental Council, malpractice insurance cover for all doctors and dentists, as well as lump sum long service award for doctors who serve 15 years and above computed at their last gross salary multiplied by 180 months.

The source at the MoH said during negotiations, some of the demands were agreed upon, while others were still being negotiated on.

According to it, rapporteurs at the negotiating table had been tasked to put together what were agreed on, what were outstanding and what already existed in the service.

Meanwhile, the nationwide strike announced by the GMA attracted mixed responses from doctors in public health institutions across the country on the first day.

While services in some of the state-owned health institutions were virtually paralysed following the doctors’ compliance with the directive by their leaders, other health facilities operated normally because doctors were at post.

In some of the facilities, medical and physician assistants took over work abandoned by the striking doctors at the OPDs, but lamentations from patients were the order of the day at facilities where the strike was biting.


Graphic