The Ghana Medical Association has begun beating war drums over their conditions of service.

Speaking at a press conference Sunday, the president of the GMA Dr. Kwabena Opoku-Adusei said the government has failed to provide their terms and conditions of service more than four months after making the demand.

“The general public and stakeholders should know the GMA has been patient enough and must not blame the GMA if we withdraw our services after June,” Dr Opoku-Adusei said.

He said the June 30 deadline has been served since last year and they will not relent on that.

“A deadline of 30th June, 2015 was given to government to ensure that doctors in the public sector have a negotiated and signed conditions of service document. The GMA in that communique indicated that if by the end of this deadline the conditions of service document is not secured, all the affected doctors shall consider themselves unemployed,” he added.

Below is a communique issued by the GMA

May 31, 2015

PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 3rd NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL (NEC) MEETING OF THE GHANA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (GMA) FOR THE YEAR 2015. HELD AT THE PEMPAMSIE HOTEL. CAPE COAST IN THE CENTRAL REGION. FROM 29th - 31st MAY. 2015

In a communique issued at the end of the 56th Annual General Conference of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) on 9th November, 2014 in Takoradi, Western Region, the GMA drew the attention of government to the fact that its members working with the Ministry of Health (Ghana Health Service /Teaching Hospitals) were without conditions of service.

A deadline of 30th June, 2015 was given to government to ensure that doctors in the public sector have a negotiated and signed conditions of service document.

The GMA in that communique indicated that if by the end of this deadline the conditions of service document is not secured, all the affected doctors shall consider themselves unemployed.

A press statement was issued at the end of the 2nd National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the GMA held at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region on 20th March, 2015, indicating that the GMA was strictly going to adhere to the 30th June, 2015 deadline because government had not taken any steps to solve the issue of lack of conditions of service for its members, four (4) Months after serving our initial notice.

However, barely a month to the deadline, government has started some machinations to absolve itself from blame should the deadline not be met. The GMA holds government to its earlier promise to meet the deadline.

The National Executive Council (NEC) hereby affirms that the GMA stands by its 30th June, 2015 deadline.

The GMA would like to communicate the following roadmap to its members, government and the general public:

1. All members should look out for regular communication on this subject from the National and Divisional Secretariats. 2. All members should attend weekly Divisional Meetings beginning Friday 5th June, 2015 for sensitization and planning towards the deadline. 3. There will be a National Executive Council Meeting of the GMA in the next couple of weeks to assess any development. 4. The Divisional Executives of the Association in the various regions will continue to engage the general public on this subject.

The general public and all stakeholders should take note of the fact that the GMA has been patient enough and therefore should hold government responsible for any disturbances in the industrial front after the deadline.