A
member of the Communications team of the National Democratic Congress, Fred
Agbenyo says the National Labour Commission (NLC), the Fair Wages and Salaries
Commission (FWSC) and all authorities in the health sector should be
"proactive" in order to ward off any future dangers in the sector.
According
to him, the stakeholders should be "proactive so that they won't push the
health sector workers to the extent that they will go on strike."
Speaking
on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo", Fred Agbenyo told host
Tweneboah Koduah, that the appropriate authorities in the health sector should
put the necessary structures in place in order to address the concerns of the
medical doctors in the country.
The
doctors have threatened to embark on a nationwide strike on Monday, February
18, 2013 if the FWSC does not rectify the inconsistencies in their salary
scheme.
They
complain that the FWSC has not heeded their grievances in relation to the
Single Spine Salary Scheme.
According
to the General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association, Dr. Frank Serebour,
the grading of district directors and medical superintendents was referred to
the Ghana Health Service Council on November 4, 2011 by the National Labour
Commission but has since not been resolved.
He
explained in a Daily Graphic publication that the "positioning of the
association was that any doctor being made a medical superintendent or district
director had to maintain his or her grade."
"Thus,
a specialist being made a medical superintendent would still retain the grade
of specialist, but would not assume a lower grade upon assuming the position of
medical superintendent or district director."
But
Dr. Frank Serebour stated that the arrangements stipulated by the association
has not been met by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and this has therefore
necessitated the doctors' strike notice.
Reacting
to the strike action, Fred Agbenyo pleaded with the health sector workers to
revoke their decision stating that "strike should not be the last
object" when the workers identify some lapses in the work of the Labour
Commission and the health authorities.
He
explained that any time medical doctors embark on strike, several patients lose
their lives adding that strike actions can be revoked but the lost lives are
irreversible.
"How
can we reverse something that is damaged? How can we pay the price? So, we plead; this (strike) is not a good weapon to be used all the time. We plead, let us use other means to resolve some of these issues." he pleaded
with the health workers.
He
appealed to government, National Labour Commission and all stakeholders in the
health sector to come to a consensus in order to resolve the conflict.
From: Adu Gyamfi Ameyaw/peacefmonline.com
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