GMA to meet on distortions created by SSSS migration

Accra, Jan. 21, GNA -The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) Council will next week meet and declare its official position on the distortions created by the migration of doctors and other health professionals onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) resulting in more distortions.

The meeting, which is one of their normal council meetings, will among other issues discuss the problems erupting after being migrated onto the SSSS since December, 2011.

Dr Kwabena Opoku-Adusei, President of the (GMA), announced these in an interview with the Ghana News Agency to response to comments by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) that it was not responsible for the distortions.

The FWSC advised the GMA to trace the shortfall of the salaries of their members and other health workers to the Controller and Accountant-General's Department (CAGD).

The Commission said it should not be blamed for the shortfalls but urged the pay roll outfit of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to liaise with the CAGD to address the anomaly.

Dr Opoku-Adusei explained that the GMA had a meeting with FWSC, which was attended by the Ministry of Health and the CAGD, and that the distortions did not come from the GHS's pay roll office.

“After our Council meeting, we will then decide on this matter and will make it known”, he added.

The GMA on Wednesday announced in an interview with the GNA in Accra that the migration of health personnel onto the SSSS had created irregularities, which had attracted serious concerns.

According the GMA, the migration, which was implemented in December last year, had resulted in professionals receiving lower salaries than what they were previously earning, hinting that the development might result in another battle between the GMA and the FWSC this year.

Dr Opoku-Adusei explained that the National Labour Commission (NLC) had ruled after the compulsory arbitration meeting that the matter should be resolved by the Ministry of Health and the GHS Council.

He said since the NLC had no jurisdiction over the matter, letters written to the Council but GMA did not receive any response.

The doctors, in October 20111, staged a 14-day nation-wide strike over distortions in their migration onto the SSSS over the inability of the FWSC to provide unequivocal evidence of migration of doctors onto the SSSS and the ambiguous stance of the SSS Secretariat on the position of District Directors of Health Service and Medical Superintendents.

The inability of GMA and FWSC to resolve the problem compelled the Commission to refer the issue to NLC to apply the compulsory arbitration as provided for under Section 162 of the Labour Act.

The NLC ruled that the CAGD should pay the doctors their SSSS whilst that of District and Medical Superintendents should be settled by the GHS Council.

GNA