The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) will this afternoon hold a final crunch meeting with government, after which it would make public whether the threat by its members to resign en bloc following government's failure to make their conditions of service available to them will be carried out or not.
Information picked by The Finder indicates that negotiations have not been concluded because of some teething issues such as budget lines and the implication of some words in some sentences.
President of GMA, Dr Kwabena Poku-Adusei told The Finder that the various stakeholders met last Friday and agreed to hold a final meeting this afternoon, after which GMA will declare its stance.
Today’s meeting would be attended by the Minister for Employment Labour Relations, Haruna Iddrisu; Fair Wages and Salaries Commission boss, Mr George Smith-Graham; and possibly the Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia.
He would not tell whether GMA would go ahead with the en bloc resignation or call it off to indicate that they are satisfied with the condition of service.
The Ministry of Health said it has drafted the condition of service and that the ball is in the court of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
En bloc resignation deadlines
In the last quarter of 2014, all public sector doctors across the country threatened to resign en bloc by June 30, 2015 if the government failed to establish conditions of service for them.
They began issuing reminders to force the government to give in to their demands.
On June 16, they issued their final warning and indicated that their resignation would be justified because they had given government ample time to address their concerns.
But the Ministry of Health stated that it may be unable to meet the June 30 deadline of the doctors.
On June 30, 2015, the association deferred their mass resignation action following a meeting between the leadership of the association and government officials behind closed door on Monday, June 28.
The doctors then boycotted the signing of a framework to guide them in negotiating for better conditions of service, with the reason that they needed time to understand the content and that government appeared to be compelling them to sign under duress.
GMA says health workers across the country pay their hospital bills whenever they fall sick.
To compound their plight, their family members also pay medical bills when they are under the weather, unlike their colleagues in other government agencies and the private sector who enjoy some health benefits.
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