Return to the negotiating table

The government and the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) are engaged in tough negotiations over conditions of service for members of the GMA.

The doctors have for more than a week been on strike over their conditions of service and have stopped providing emergency services.

The dispute has led to the closure of outpatient departments at all government hospitals, forcing the government to put in place emergency plans for urgent cases, including bringing in private doctors.

The doctors are demanding free post-graduate medical education, better retirement packages and increases in clothing, fuel and maintenance allowances.

Other demands include free overseas healthcare for services not available in Ghana and the right to import vehicles into the country on a duty-free basis.

They are also demanding 40 per cent of their basic salaries as accommodation allowance per month, 20 per cent as core duty facilitation allowance, 30 per cent clothing allowance, 20 per cent maintenance allowance, 20 per cent utility allowance, 50 per cent as professional allowance and 25 per cent special risk allowance and vehicle tax exemption for their members.

The proposals have been condemned by some members of the populace who describe the doctors as insensitive and their demands outrageous.

President John Mahama has indicated that he will not authorise any expenditure on wages not provided for in the budget for both workers and Article 72 office holders.

He said he would hold on to this commitment and face any likely political consequences that may come as a result of that decision.
For the Graphic Business, hardline positions do not help in such critical times when patients are bearing the brunt of the withdrawal of services.

We hold the view that while the doctors may have some legitimate claims, their withdrawal of services does not show a party prepared to make a compromise.

It is the view of the paper that compromises are best secured on the negotiating table. This is because the principle of negotiations requires that parties must relinquish a bit of their rights in order to accommodate the other.

While some have condemned the President for being uncompromising, the paper believes he was forthright. He only stated the truth.
For us at the Graphic Business, for a country that has just entered into a three-year programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), any additional cost to the wage bill will derail the gains made to achieve fiscal discipline.

We also agree with the President that any unbudgeted payment made to the doctors will open the floodgates for others in the health sector to make demands that will lead to distortions in the Single Spine Salary Structure.

The Graphic Business adds its voice to that of many Ghanaians by appealing to the doctors to return to the negotiating table and complete discussions with government and the Fair Wages Commission. — GB