Physician Assistants suspends ongoing strike

The Ghana Physician Assistants Association has temporarily suspended its strike, awaiting the outcome of a 28-day ultimatum issued by the National Labour Commission to the Ministry of Health regarding their demands.

The Association had embarked on an indefinite strike to protest proposed legislation that would subject them to supervision by the Medical and Dental Council, fearing it would disempower its members.

Speaking to the media, the National President of the association, Peter Akuduge Ayamba, emphasized that they will resume their strike if the ministry fails to address their demands satisfactorily.

“The National Labour Commission heard us and have directed that within 28 days they should engage us and report to them on how to address the concerns that we have raised. We are not happy as an association with the posture of the government and the fact that they have been dragging their legs all this while. It was because of that that’s why we are where we are now.”

“And we are saying that based on the ruling and the intervention of the labour commission and the fact that we are law-abiding citizens and unions for that matter, we are calling on our membership to resume work. Because we are temporarily calling off this strike so that we will explore all other options if by the deadline that has been given by the labour commission nothing is done,” he stated.

Mr Ayamba said the options included going back to their strike action or resorting to the work-to-rule policy.

“So we are saying that we will explore all other interventions which include our non-renewal position that we took that with their intervention we had to come back. We are also exploring the possibility of working to rule policy which means that we will do according to what we are supposed to do, nothing more nothing less,” he said.