The General Secretary of the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union (MELPWU), has acknowledged the difficulties faced by the public during their recent strike.

In an interview on JoyNews' The Probe, Dr. Cephas Akortor, apologised to the public for the inconvenience caused.

Dr. Akortor emphasised that the union never intended for the situation to escalate to this extent.

However, he explained that the inaction of the duty-bearers compelled them to take such measures.

"My sincere apologies to the general public. In fact, we decided to put the strike on hold for their sake," he said on Sunday, June 23.

The Medical Laboratory Professional Workers' Union (MELPWU) initiated an industrial action on June 17, 2024, in response to the government's prolonged delay in addressing their conditions of service.

This action significantly disrupted health services nationwide, leaving patients at public health facilities without essential laboratory services and forcing many to seek more expensive alternatives in private facilities.

The strike is temporarily on hold following an emergency meeting held on Thursday, June 20 involving representatives from MELPWU, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the Finance Ministry, and the Health Ministry, aimed at resolving the ongoing dispute.

• Read also: NLC directs Medical Laboratory workers to call off strike

But Dr Akortor explained that despite the potential for a longer strike, the union decided to "add a human face to it" and called off the action after five days.

He noted that the union understood the critical impact their absence could have on the healthcare system, emphasising that the “laboratory is the foundation of healthcare.”

"The role that we play starts from the beginning of life to the end of life and even beyond the grave because, in the grave, we have to tell whether you are the actual person lying there or not through DNA testing and other investigations.”

He also noted that the decision to suspend the strike was influenced by the union's commitment to being law-abiding citizens.