Ensure parity in incentive package payments for health workers

Juaboso (W/R), May 24, GNA - Health workers in the Juaboso-Bia District have demanded fairness and parity in the implementation of the government's decision to pay 35 percent of basic salaries of health workers in deprived areas as allowance. They described as unacceptable the lack of uniformity in the package payment and said this has become a major source of worry and a disincentive.

They complained that while the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has been using 27 percent of their basic salaries to compute the allowance payable to those of them in the area, their counterparts at Sefwi-Wiaso and Mpoho-Wassa, for example, are enjoying the full 35 percent. They expressed these sentiments at a forum they held at Juaboso to discuss ways of enhancing performance.

They said since November last year when they drew attention of the health authorities to the "unfair and unjust treatment", no action had been taken to rectify it.

The result has been that many health professionals are now refusing to accept postings to the district.

"This laudable initiative that could have tremendously assisted to entice more health staff to accept to work in this most deprived and hard to reach part of the Western Region should not be allowed to run into avoidable problems".

"We want to once again remind the GHS and the Health Ministry to correct this wrong as we are not prepared to embark on strike action at the expense of the poor patients.'

''Nevertheless, should this anomaly continued unchecked, we would be compelled to look at other options", they said.