The Government and Hospitals Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) has called off its strike following a successful negotiation with government.
A statement from the Ministry of Health said “the Ministry of Health wishes to commend Members of the Government Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) for accepting to call off their strike to enable stakeholders involved to resolve their issues.”
GHOSPA in September embarked on a strike over issues relating to the payment of their market premiums among others.
The Association indicated that the course of action had been necessitated by the continuous breakdown of negotiations with government over its grade structure and placement in public health facilities.
The Ministry in a statement however expressed hope that “GHOSPA will cooperate with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), Ministry of Health, the National Labour Commission and other stakeholders to resolve all issues relating to their remuneration and conditions of Service.”
“The Ministry is aware of that the FWSC has held various negation meetings with GHOSPA. The negotiation has not concluded. Our understanding is that FWSC is still committed to continuing the negations. It is therefore the view of the Ministry that the people of Ghana, the poor and vulnerable as well as distressed patients would be served if GHOSPA continued with to negotiate with a view to reaching agreement with the FWSC.
GHOSPA’s strike in August
Apart from the strike GHOSPA embarked on in August, it also embarked on a similar one in August 2015, over the same unresolved market premium issue with the FWSC concerning conversion differences after migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure.
GHOSPA’s General Secretary, Emmanuel Owusu Owiafe, earlier lamented to Citi News that his association has been negotiations with government for six years but to no avail.
He also noted that other pharmacists working for government, but outside the Health Service, are receiving better market premiums.
“Within the health service, we are having discrepancies in our interim market payment even comparable to our colleague pharmacists in some public sector institutions. Pharmacists working in university hospitals are on a premium of 1.14 meanwhile the Fair Wages and salaries Commissions are putting pharmacists working in the Ghana health services at 0.58 and that is a huge discrepancy,” he said.
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