The Ghana Medical Association has promised to embark on a “series of steps that would definitely disturb the current industrial harmony in health care delivery” in the country if government failed to resolve the standing matter of Conversion Difference and Reduced Pensions by the end of May, 2015.
According to the statement, doctors in the public sector continue to suffer from the reduced pensions due to the unwillingness of Government to pay the Conversion Difference due them.
This was contained in a press statement of the 2nd National Executive Council Meeting of the Ghana Medical Association for the year 2015 and jointly signed by its President, Dr. K Opoku Adusei and the General Secretary, Dr. Frank Serebour.
The statement said the association would fiercely resist any attempt by government to use court processes as a refuge to avoid its obligations.
The association is therefore calling upon the Fair Wages and Salary Commission and Labour Commission whom it accuses of conniving with government to cause the current mess to address the matter of Conversion Difference and reduced Pension before things fall apart.
It would be recalled that in April, 2013, doctors went on a month-long strike to press home demands for the payment of their conversion difference resulting from the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure. They restored their services on May 8 in compliance with the NLC directive.
However, in a fast game changing decision, the Accra Fast Tack High Court squashed the decision of the NLC after a judicial review.
The Association accepted the court decision but said it would fight on.
The statement also talked about the tier 2 Pensions, where it said, the inability to resolve the tier 2 pension isssues 6 months after government dragged the Labour Union to court has continued to affect the ordinary worker who suffers losses on investment returns for their future benefits. The GMA per the statement calls on the judiciary to as a matter of urgency resolve it quickly.
