Ghana Federation of Labour Slams Doctors Strike Action

The Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Abraham Koomson has slammed the striking medical doctors for their inhumane behaviour towards the Ghanaian citizenry.

According to him, the medical doctors have embarked on strike just to fill their pockets but shirk their responsibilities to patients, something he found unprofessional on their part.

He described the leadership of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) as “confused and ashamed” of their industrial action, hence their demand for a written commitment by government to roll out a payment schedule to defray their 2012 market premium and also address their conversion difference.

The medical doctors have asked government to pledge its commitment in writing, stipulating the measures to resolve the conflict.

The doctors heightened their strike action by withdrawing emergency services to patients but are willing to reconsider their decision when government commit itself in writing to the terms agreed upon by the GMA, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, National Labour Commission, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, and other labour unions.

Mr. Koomson, addressing the issue on Radio Gold’s newspaper review, believed the doctors request is a well-calculated move to “save their face by writing this letter just to let the members feel like they are working. But you really, this is complete lawlessness.”

In his view, the doctors are rather “confused about things” and so, appealed to government to withhold their salaries for refusing to render essential services to patients.

He opined that “what they (doctors) are doing, it tells everybody that, now, they have lost control. Now, they are ashamed of what they have done; wanting to kill people just to make money. They don’t understand the work that they are doing. They went there just to make money for themselves, despite what happens to their patients.”