<<Print>>The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyei Agyepong has condemned President John Dramani Mahama’s comments on the on-going strike action by doctors in the public sector.
The NPP scribe speaking on Joy FM described as ‘unpresidential and unfortunate’ the statement by the President that the strike action ‘do not make sense’.
“I was informed the President during the International Youth Day described the strike action of the doctors as senseless…and I think that was very unpresidential, very unfortunate…,” he said while commenting on the strike action by the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) members.
The partial strike action by the GMA members is entering into its third week.
The GMA at a crucial General Assembly meeting voted to extend the strike action despite calls from various sectors to call it off.
At the meeting, 213 doctors voted for the status quo, while 148 voted to resume duty. That is by a margin of 65 votes; the doctors voted to continue the strike.
President Mahama commenting on it early this week on Uniiq FM during the International Youth Day said the strike action ‘does not make sense’ and it’s ‘illegal’.
“The labour law states that nobody must negotiate under duress. Even before negotiations begun, they declared a strike. Nobody must die as a result of an illegal strike. The doctors’ strike is illegal… The doctors must go back to work while negotiations continue in good faith.
“We’re paying doctors their salaries and allowances as negotiated on single spine, but instead conditions of service ...the budget would go to Parliament at the end of November...it doesn't make sense,” the President said.
Responding to this, Managing Editor of Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr questioned why the government is still negotiating with the striking doctors despite claims that ‘it is illegal’.
“The government is also acting illegally by continuing the negotiation under duress. If government knows that indeed it’s illegal, then why should they go ahead and negotiate with them … “If you claim something is illegal, then why are you also negotiating with them…? ” he queried on Adom FM.
President Mahama prior to this said that the government would not be coerced to spend beyond the budgetary allocations.
These comments from the President and several other ‘unpalatable’ ones by government communicators, Kwabena Agyepong said, do not augur well as far as negotiations for the doctors to return to the wards are concerned.
"I will solely blame this on the President...," he said.