Doctors and the Union of Health Service Workers have boycotted a planned meeting with the Health Ministry, Wednesday in a move that will further strain negotiations on conditions of service.
The meeting was for the workers to sign a draft framework that spells out the conditions of services for doctors and other health service workers. They have been demanding their conditions of service since January 2015.
According to Joy News, the doctors and other health workers had heeded the call by the Health Ministry to attend the meeting and waited for several minutes at the Ministry of Health conference room.
Finally, the PRO of the Ministry Tony Goodman arrived with a document asking the doctors and health workers to sign.
The workers however refused to sign the document and stepped out of the planned meeting.
According to the workers, they had not been part of any negotiations for them to be called to sign a final document.
Some of the health service union workers said they had no idea what the document was about and could not sign.
The new twist has further dented efforts to resolve the protracted issue of conditions of service between the doctors and health workers on one hand and the Health Ministry on another.
The doctors have given a June 30 deadline to resign en masse if the document that spells out the conditions of service is not finalised.
They claim apart from two weeks mortuary fees which they are exempt from paying when they die, they do not have any conditions of service that spells out benefits and responsibilities.
Deputy General Secretary of the GMA Dr Justice Yankson had early on told Joy FM when they are sick they are made to pay for health care services, buy medications as any other patient would despite the many risks they take in caring for the sick.
They have warned that they would no longer work for the state if their conditions of service is not consummated.
Hours after boycotting the meeting Dr Justice Yankson told Joy News they could not be made to sign a final document they had not played a role in compiling.
He said they gave the government six months to resolve this issue but nothing happened in the first five months.
"We are still waiting and cooperating with them,' he said but will not rescind its decision to resign en masse if the deadline is not met.
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