The Medical Laboratory Professional Workers Union (MELPWU) has petitioned the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, over what it describes as systemic recruitment discrimination against medical laboratory and allied health professionals.

In a vehement petition signed by the MELPWU General Secretary, Dr Cephas Kofi Akortor, the group laments the government's persistent failure to grant financial clearance for the employment of about 3000 qualified but unemployed medical laboratory and allied health graduates, a situation that has persisted since 2019.

Meanwhile, management of public health facilities engages the services of these individuals on a casual basis and pays them from internally generated funds.

Despite repeated appeals and the well-known shortage of medical laboratory professionals across the country's health facilities, the union notes that no financial clearance has been granted for its members in six years.

Meanwhile, other health professional groups, including nurses, medical and dental officers, it said, continue to benefit from mass recruitment exercises.

"On May 13, 2025, the Ministry of Health issued a circular for the recruitment of medical and dental officers, yet again excluding medical laboratory officers," the petition stated, adding that “this ongoing marginalisation of our members is not only unjust but gravely undermines the critical role we play in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention".

According to MELPWU, medical laboratory professionals currently form the largest group of health workers engaged under Internally Generated Funds (IGF) across public hospitals in Ghana, a situation that subjects them to insecure and poorly remunerated conditions, devoid of job security and pension benefits.

The petition further highlights that despite assurances from the government following a nationwide strike in June 2024, including a commitment to process financial clearance for 19,351 allied health professionals, no concrete feedback or action has been taken by the Employer.

"This silence has only deepened the frustration and agitation among our members and the thousands of qualified professionals languishing in unemployment," the petition stated.

"We are witnessing the creation of a class of overworked, underpaid, and unrecognised health professionals, whose contributions are being exploited under precarious conditions".

Efforts by the union to engage key stakeholders, particularly the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, have not yielded results.

They are yet to receive a response to the latest letter addressed to the Minister of Health on April 7, 2025.

The union is demanding two key actions from the government: Immediate financial clearance and permanent posting of qualified but non-mechanised medical laboratory and allied health professionals, particularly all the staff currently working under IGF arrangements; and a clear, time-bound recruitment roadmap that ensures equity and regular employment opportunities for medical laboratory and allied health professionals, in line with the other health sector professions experiencing near-zero unemployment.

The petition warns that failure to act on these demands will leave the union with no option but to resort to legitimate industrial action.

"The allied health community is no longer merely pleading for jobs; we are demanding fairness, equity, and justice," the petition concluded.