The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) says its members are running out of patience after government failed to implement agreed conditions of service.

Speaking on Joy FM's Top Story, the Deputy General Secretary of GMA stated that their members agreed to give government two months to put in place measures to meet the conditions of service, which includes some arrears and healthcare.

Failure of government to do so, doctors will embark on strict action on Friday, October 1, Dr Titus Beyuo told Evans Mensah, host of the show.

“We have a signed condition of service which was signed in November 2019 and to date, some aspects have not been fully implemented. An example is our healthcare. It is stipulated within the document that our healthcare will be taken care of by our employer.”

“As we speak, doctors, when they fall ill in hospitals they work in, have to foot their own bill. Some facilities are putting in some individual measures to foot a bit of the bill, but, when the doctor is transferred to a new facility then, there is completely nothing for that person,” he said.

Dr Beyuo explained that the members agreed to serve notice after the leadership of GMA informed them that come conversations have been taking place between them and the leadership.

He stated that the association is hoping government fully resolves their concerns. If not, doctors will not hold back on suspending their services.

“Per the labour law, we are essential service providers, and if we have concerns, there is a duration within which they should be addressed. But, unfortunately, these two months are way beyond that duration.

“So, having served this notice, if the powers that be fail to do much about it, then it is an automatic rollout of the action, and no one should come and quote labour law to us,” Dr Beyuo added.

Meanwhile, Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, is predicting more strikes and other industrial actions in the months ahead that will hugely impact the economy. 

According to him, the government’s decision to increase the salary of public sector workers by only 4% has contributed greatly to the instability on the labour front.

“Going into the future, we should be ready to bear the consequences of an unstable labour environment, which is likely to be characterised by protests, and strike actions which ultimately will affect the productivity of our country,” the Minority Leader added.