In a swift move to calm tensions on the labour front in the health sector, the National Labour Commission has directed striking Government Pharmacists to end their two-day action. The Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike on Monday, 7th November, 2011. A statement issued in Accra and signed by Stephen Corquaye, National Chairman of GHOSPA, over the weekend, accused the Wages and Salaries Commission of employing “deceitful tactics” and displaying “a clear disregard and contempt for agreements it reached with GHOSPA”. However, unlike the case of the doctors, this time the Labour Commission is not waiting for things to get out of hand. After a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the NLC decided that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, and the Pharmacists go into compulsory arbitration. Meanwhile, National Chairman of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association, Steven Corquaye, told Joy News the group is ready for this. He said the national executives of the Association are expected to meet Wednesday evening to take a decision on the NLC’s directive, but was hopeful the group will be given a “fair trial and our issues would be addressed properly”. “History have shown that pharmacists have never gone on strike. But this time around we were pushed too hard to the wall, and our members decided to withdraw their services.” Chairman of the National Labour Commission Joseph Aryeetey told me the pharmacists will have to end their two day strike “immediately” to facilitate the arbitration. He identified communication as the main cause of the recent industrial actions. Meanwhile, Elton John Brobbey reports from Kumasi that the Pharmacy and the Dispensary Technologists Association has distanced itself from a nationwide strike by the Government Hospital Pharmacists Association. However those at Komfo Anokye say their striking colleagues are preventing them from working by locking their offices. Play the attached audio to listen to submissions of the various groups