<<Print>>

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) President, Dr. Adusei Poku has described as propaganda, publications that seem to suggest that the front of the association is broken with doctors from the Eastern and Volta Regions defying directives from the National leadership to embark on a sit-down-strike. �Propaganda and many other techniques can be employed in this case but my stand is that, if it is even one hospital that has expressed its unwillingness to go to work due to the deadlock between government and doctors over arrears, should it not be a concern enough for government�? he questioned. According to him, there were reports that also sought to create the impression that, as President of the GMA he was only misleading members of the association to embark on a strike action whiles he was at post busily seeing to patients. �But we didn�t say we were not going to work. We stated clearly that we deal with emergencies and in patients. So we do not want to be distracted by some of these propaganda and distortions,� Dr. Adusei Poku insisted. The GMA president was responding to media reportage that the Eastern and Volta Regional branches of the Association has openly challenged the rationale behind the strike action and called on the leadership of GMA not to be overly interested in the arrears owed them by government because they are being paid an appreciable amount as monthly salary. According to the reports, the group called on the leadership to call off the sit-down-strike and actively work towards a quick resolution of the issue. Dr. Adusei Poku however replied by asking if �anyone has seen a rich man who has refused additional money because he has enough? Despite the volume of water in the sea, it still rains into it. So if you are paid your basic salary and refused allowances that comes with it, then I don�t know what you are talking about�. He however agreed that there are doctors who are not on strike, not because they do not support the strike action but as a matter of principle. The GMA together with the Government Hospitals Pharmacists have embarked on a sit-down-strike to demand allowance arrears for the year 2012. This comes after a series of industrial strike actions on the labour front, starting from that of the National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Ghana National Association of Graduate Teachers (GNAGRAT), followed by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).