The Ghana Medical Association has expressed disappointment over key portions of the award it received from the compulsory arbitration panel of the Labour Commission. The award was in respect of concerns raised by the doctors over some distortion in their migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure. The GMA submitted itself to compulsory arbitration after it had embarked on an industrial action for more than 14 days. A statement issued by the association says it is totally dissatisfied with the award as it fundamentally undermines the scientific basis that underpins the development of an equitable salary structure. The GMA is virtually unhappy with the award on grading structure, market premium, and the contentious issues of grades of district directors of health and medical superintendent. Below is the full statement as issued by the GMA. PRESS STATEMENT ON THE REACTION OK THE GHANA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION TO THE AWARD BY HIE COMPULSORY ARBITRATION PANEL OV THE NATIONAL LABOUR COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF FWSC v GM A Grading Structure/Promotional Pattern On the matter of the distortions of the grading structure and promotional patterns, we wish to state that the NEC's Arbitration Award unfortunately left these untouched and unresolved. The GMA is therefore totally dissatisfied with this award as it fundamentally undermines the scientific and objective basis that underpins the development of an equitable salary structure. It is clear that the ruling did not take into consideration the abnormal promotional patterns. There was no correction or compensation for the half-a-step promotional patterns for doctors on the structure alter five (5) years of service as compared to other health workers galloping per promotion i.e. one or more jumps across bands for the same number of years served. It is interesting to note that the future of doctors without market premium will be disastrous on the Single Spine Salary Structure since they will be greatly disadvantaged. Emphasis should be laid on the fact that market premium as per the submission of the FWSC is not a permanent feature on the Single Spine Pay Policy. The GMA therefore wants to state that there is the need to either expand the Single Spine Salary Structure to properly accommodate the doctors to ensure an even promotion pattern consistent with all others or compensate Doctors for the obviously unacceptable and unfair half step promotional patterns as currently seen on the structure. Otherwise the necessary steps should be taken to move doctors out of the Single Spine in future. GMA is very disappointed that the NLC refused to give directions on how the distortions should be corrected. The GMA will continue to explore the options available for future engagements with the view to correcting these distortions. Grades of District Directors of Health Services and Medical Superintendent: The National Labour Commission stated that they do not have jurisdiction on this matter and referred the GMA us to the management of Ghana Health Service. The GMA will therefore take up this issue with the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service Council to come to a logical conclusion on this matter. Act 525 only talks about the establishment of these positions and the requisite qualifications needed but not how persons occupying these positions should be paid. Market Premium: The award of the Arbitration Panel of the National Labour Commission fell short of the expectations of the GMA and the realities on the ground since it does not entirely address the full number of extra hours done by doctors as has been alluded to by the FWSC through their submission to the NLC (201hrs). The GMA, believes that the award given by the National Labour Commission is unscientific and that it is a declaration of the number of extra hours supposed to be done by doctors. The implication of the NLC award translates into l24hours and that employers should be ready to pay for any other additional work done beyond this period by negotiating with doctors ready to perform such extra (overtime) duties. There is therefore the need to go back to the scientific basis for the determination of the market premium. It was in the light of the potential gaps in service delivery that were likely to arise that the GMA insisted that the appropriate market premium should have been awarded. The Ministry of Health is entreated to look beyond this award and ensure that doctors are paid for the extra hours that they do or find alternative means of attending to the long queues when the doctors are oil' after completing their duly paid for extra hours. After a careful study of the arbitration award by the GMA and their lawyers, it is dear that the Ghana Medical Association only got judgment and not justice at the National Labour Commission. Migration of doctors onto the Single Spine Pay Policy: All these grievances of the GMA notwithstanding, the FWSC has still not come out with clear time lines when it plans to migrated doctors onto the Single Spine Salary Structure. The GMA will like to advice that the necessary steps should be taken to migrate doctors as soon as possible and that it is our hope that the next salaries of the doctors would be based on the single spine pay policy whiles steps are taken to resolve our grievances and all outstanding issues. Any unnecessary delays in migration of doctors will only result in further mistrust and suspicion leading to the rocking of the boat of the apparent industrial peace.