The Financial Division of the Fast Track High Court has rejected a request by the Attorney-General�s Department and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to join the suit in which the National Labour Commission (NLC) has sued the GMA over the latter�s strike.
According to the court, allowing the two bodies to join the suit would protract the case.
It rather advised the A-G�s Department and the FWSC to be on the negotiation table with the GMA to resolve the impasse.
Last week, the court issued a one-week ultimatum to the NLC, the GMA and the FWSC to agree on a payment schedule on the conversion difference for doctors, but when the case was called yesterday, the parties had not reached an agreement as directed by the court.
That compelled the presiding judge, Mr Justice John Ajet-Nasam, to adjourn the case to June 6, 2016 and directed the parties to resolve their differences by that date.
The court, at an earlier sitting, had refused a one-month request by the NLC for the GMA and the FWSC to agree on the schedule for payment.
According to the court, the one-month directive issued by the NLC for the parties to agree on a payment schedule to make for an amicable resolution of the doctors� grievances was too long and, therefore, directed the parties to endeavour to do so within a week.
The GMA last Tuesday, announced an end to a strike by its members which lasted almost one month.
Justice Ajet-Nasam called for the total commitment of members.
At an earlier sitting, the President of the GMA, Dr Opoku-Adusei, had, on behalf of the GMA, pledged to the court to comply with the decision to call off the strike.
It would be recalled that an emergency National Executive Council meeting of the GMA held on April 14, 2013 decided on the withdrawal of out-patient care from April 15, 2013 and the full withdrawal of out-patient, in-patient and emergency services from April 22, 2013.
The council said the action was necessitated by the government's unwillingness to resolve doctors� grievances on market premium, reduced pensions and conversion differences which had accrued during their migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
The association escalated its action when it asked its members to withdraw all out-patient, in-patient and emergency services from April 22, 2013.
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