Doctors to extend strike for two weeks - union
Ghana's doctors decided on Friday to strike for two more weeks, their union said, in a protest that is testing the government's ability to stick to the terms of an IMF programme designed to restore economic stability.
Doctors are refusing to see out-patients or admit new in-patients, despite pressure from government, religious and cultural leaders to halt their industrial action.
The decision came as a surprise after the president of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) said earlier on Friday that the doctors were likely to return to work.
GMA deputy general secretary Justice Yankson said there was unanimous agreement to extend the strike for two weeks while pressing the government for a formal document to define doctors' conditions of service.
"The people (doctors) have spoken and we will have to go by their decision. They have given a further two weeks for this to continue. Beyond that period, depending on gains that may or may not have been made, we will reconvene," he said.
"There is a feeling that the government hasn't treated them fairly over the years and they want this matter resolved."
A medical director in Ghana typically earns around 4,700 cedis ($1,175) per month, though many doctors supplement their incomes by taking on private patients and some work in religious hospitals where pay and benefits can be better.
The strike is raising pressure on President John Mahama's government before elections in 2016 that are expected to be tightly contested.
Source: Reuters.com
By: Kwasi Kpodo (Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
