PRESS RELEASE

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) views the escalation of the strike action by the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) with grave concern, as it has immediate direct impact on the sick and particularly the poorest in our society who may not be able to afford private medical care.

We acknowledge the stressful and demanding nature of the work of our Doctors which involves long hours of work under trying conditions. We also recognise their often dedicated and selfless service to the people of Ghana.

Numerous appeals have been made to the GMA by individuals and institututions, with little demand on Government about its responsibility to also do more to end the strike. It is unfortunate that the strike has now been escalated with all the attendant impact on the sick and the poorest in our society. The situation is now at crisis point and must be treated as such, for those who lose their lives most certainly cannot be brought back.

We therefore plead with the GMA and doctors to reconsider their decision to stop “attending to emergence cases“ on humanitarian grounds.

We are happy that discussions between the GMA, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), theTUC and government has progressed matters, but It is time for compulsory arbitration and urgent resolution on the remaining issues including pensions and conversion differences.

The expectation from all Ghanaians is that an arbitration procedure must now be continous until a solution has been found. The meeting of all interested parties must take place at a suitable conference venue with amenities - perhaps a hotel- and all must commit to stay at the table for as long as it takes until agreement is reached. Extraneous influences should not be allowed to impact on the negotiations. It must be a win-win situation for everybody.

We are thus calling on the Government to immediately move to convene such a meeting and set a time scale for concluding discussions and coming to agreement.

The CPP also urges government to desist from the any threatening or inflammatory language and avoid any media propaganda war.

We trust that the Government, GMA the NLC, FWSC and other interested parties will get behind closed doors and work speedily to find a resolution to ensure the continued well-being of our people.

Nii Armah Akomfrah

CPP Director of Communication

www.conventionpeoplesparty.org