President of the Ghana Medical Association Dr. Emmanuel Adom-Winful has rejected government’s back-and-forth approach being adopted to resolve the doctors’ strike action.
He told Joy News on Thursday that the association has been “very disappointed about our encounters” with the various groups which are working to find a lasting solution to the impasse.
Numerous meetings this week to address the concerns of the doctors have failed to produce any result. The doctors were hoping their meeting with the Council of State Thursday, would have provided a team with the mandate to negotiate over their concerns relating to their migration onto the new pay policy.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Medical Association and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) are both preparing to face off at the next arbitration meeting on Monday.
There are concerns that the arbiter – National Labour Commission – may toe government’s line. Though Dr Adom-Winful would not join the speculation train on that, he remarked “that would be very unfortunate”, adding “that would be an indictment on the Commission’s independence”.
He was appalled at the ad hoc approach in determining the salaries of workers in the country. He also accused the FWSC of abandoning a scientific, transparent assessment – evaluation of salaries – that was conducted, which he said the GMA is insisting should form the bases and reference for determining salaries for public service workers.
“The issue has come down to bargaining, the higher you bargain, the more you get, there is no scientific basis to what fair wages is doing today.”
Makola bargaining
He recalled that a second evaluation report by experts initiated by FWSC was accepted, however, “now you the same organisation has thrown away those results and you are resorting to ‘Makola bargaining’ procedures.”
Nevertheless, Dr Adom-Winful maintained that the GMA is “very much concern about the situation”, noting that it has taken them a year to come to this far. “The GMA is not recalcitrant,” he stressed.
“What we are saying is that if you are asking us to go back to work, please let us see in place a proper high-powered group that is sufficiently mandated to do this job, now that the job has been taken from a scientific hand.”
He also downplayed on calls on him to resign his position for his public comments on the strike, especially with respect death at the hospitals, which some say were callous.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has rebuffed media reports detailing how much they are paid and suggesting that they are demanding 40 percent pay increment across board.
GMA General Secretary, Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tetteh told Joy News that it is also not true that they are rejecting offers of between GH¢4,200 and GH¢4,800 from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.
Story by Isaac Essel/myjoyonline.com/Ghana
http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201110/75130.php
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