GMA to meet Labour Commission to begin Compulsory Arbitration on Monday, October 24
The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) would on Monday, October 24, meet with the National Labour Commission (NLC) under a Compulsory Arbitration arrangement provided under Section 162 of the Labour Act to resolve their strike action.
This has become necessary because previous meetings with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) ended in a deadlock.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra on Thursday, Dr Kwabena Opoku-Adusei, Vice President of GMA, said FWSC refused to sign the proceedings of a meeting with the GMA in which the Acting Minister of Health, Mr Haruna Iddrissu and his Deputy Mr Rojo Mattle-Nunoo were present ended in a deadlock, hence, the referral of the dispute to the NLC for resolution.
He noted that, “If the meeting with NLC on Monday will say doctors in Ghana should work for free so be it. And if they say doctors in Ghana should be paid an amount of money they deserve we will see”.
The NLC, which has the powers of a High Court a couple of weeks ago, invited the GMA and FWSC to facilitate the settlement of the dispute between them arising out of the migration of public sector medical officers onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
Following their respective presentations at the meeting, the NLC advised the parties to continue the negotiations with a view of reaching an agreement and report back but that ended with no positive result.
Five bodies have met the GMA to help find solutions to the nationwide strike embarked by the GMA.
They were FWSC, NLC, Religious Bodies and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and the Council of State.
The meeting with the Council of State, which began on Wednesday, October 19 continued on Thursday, October 20.
According to Dr Opoku-Adusei, the Council of State told the GMA that they would inform President John Evans Atta Mills about their deliberations to constitute a high powered committee to intervene after listening to the doctors.
“The Council of State will be meeting us again today (Thursday) and tell us whether they were able to get President Mills to constitute the high powered committee they suggested,”he added.
Reacting to the statement issued in Accra on Thursday signed by Mr Mohammed Affum, Public Affairs Officer, the NLC directed the GMA to call off their strike with immediate effect in pursuant to section 161(1) of the Labour Act.
The GMA Vice President said, “Members of GMA are prepared to go to prison”.
“We are a 21- Member Executive Council and the entire medical doctors including junior doctors. If they will imprison all of us, we are prepared,”he added.
Source: GNA