Govt and GMA hold talks on salary

1/08/09

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE contentious issue of how much would constitute fair remuneration for Ghanaian doctors within the current economic circumstances is back on the negotiating table following the refusal of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) to accept a seven per increment proposed by the government.
The current negotiation, which is aimed at reaching a consensus on the issues of salary increment and allowances for doctors, involves the Fair Wages Commission (FWC) and the leadership of the GMA.
The President of the GMA, Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful, told the Daily Graphic that the first meeting, which was at the instance of the FWC, was held on Wednesday, at which both the GMA and the FWC demonstrated goodwill and the spirit to make compromises in order to reach a consensus on the contentious issues involved.
Dr Winful, however, declined to say what the compromises were, stressing that both parties had agreed to discuss the issues on the quiet till they reached an agreement.
The demands of the GMA, which necessitated the meetings, are contained in a communiqué it adopted at its fourth National Executive Council Meeting held in Bolgatanga.
The communiqué appealed to the government to urgently implement the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between it and the Minister of Health, Dr George Sipa Yankey, on May 26, this year, else the doctors would advise themselves.
The MoU was signed following the work-to-rule schedule embarked upon by the GMA.
It quoted the doctors as saying that they would not accept the proposed seven per cent increment, since public sector workers had been given a 17 per cent pay rise.
The communiqué said both parties agreed that salary negotiations that started in 2008 should be concluded, while the salaries for doctors for 2008 be increased by seven per cent with effect from January 2008.
It was also agreed that with effect from January 2009, 10 per cent basic salaries of doctors, including house officers, would be paid to them as on-call duty facilitation allowance, while doctors not housed in official government accommodation also received an allowance of 10 per cent.
According to the communiqué, the government accepted that the arrears should be paid in two tranches in July and August 2009, while those on conditions of service and salaries must be paid by the end of July 2009.
However, it said the Minister of Finance had postponed the payment of the arrears due members and stated that the arrears would be paid in four instalments, in violation of the agreement.
Dr Winful said the GMA and the FWC were making progress on the issues on the table.
However, he said the two parties did not agree on certain issues at the first meeting but stopped short of saying that the meeting had been deadlocked.
Instead, he said he was hopeful that the meetings would come up with a consensus on the issues under discussion.
He said the negotiations were ongoing but could not tell when they would conclude the meetings.