Lab technicians strike over salary discrepancies

Laboratory Technicians will from today [Monday] begin a partial withdrawal of their services across the country.

The action is in protest of salary discrepancies which they say have existed for about six years, after the introduction of the single spine pay policy.

Laboratory technicians with diploma certificates were supposed to be ranked same or similar to diploma-holding nurses, but the technicians say they have been made worse off since the single spine pay policy was introduced.

They want the establishment of a directorate of laboratory service at the Health Ministry to address lab accreditation, quality control issues among others.

Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists Dennis Adu-Gyasi who spoke to Citi News said the technicians will, from today, withdraw all emergency services and night schedules.

“There is no night schedule, there is no emergency service. It is strictly as you are employed, 8am to 5pm and you are out.”

He said the association is advocating for the setting up of a laboratory directorate at the national level to the lowest cadre of the national health delivery system. and a dedicated laboratory accounts for financing laboratories….We have a cadre of our members who have been placed way below their level of the single spine right from 2012. The Issue was resolved, and letters were written to the FWSC and up to date, over 6 years, it has still not been resolved.

On 30^th January 2012, the then Ministry of Health directed the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to resolve the placement issues of the Technical Officer(Laboratory) cadre in a letter dated 30^th January 2012 with ref no. MOH/GAD 5.009.

Since then several reminders have been sent to the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission by the association but to no avail.

The lab scientists were dragged to court by the National Labour Commission in 2016 after it went on strike over the same issue saying the strike action was not legal.

The technicians are hopeful that this time the government will heed their concerns and address what they describe as “great discrepancy”.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citinewsroom.com/Ghana

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