Laboratory scientists of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi have declared a one-week sit-down strike in protest of the hospital’s decision to keep two medical specialists in key positions at the Laboratory Services Directorate.
The peeved workers have scheduled their one-week sit-down strike for Thursday, May 20, 2021.
The Chairman of the KATH Chapter of the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists, Ernest Badu Boateng, in an interview monitored by Whatsup News, warned that the Ministry of Health and the management of the Hospital have the one-week window to reassign the medical specialists, warning that if that fails, all medical laboratory scientists in the country will embark on a large-scale industrial action.
“We are starting a sit-down strike, and this strike is going to continue up till next week Wednesday 26th May 2021. We are giving management and the Ministry this window to quickly resolve the issue concerning the posting of these two medical officers so that peace will prevail, but should we go through this strike and the situation remains the same, then the general assembly, all members will meet again to decide on the next line of action,” he said.
The threat issued by the KATH lab scientists is critical, given the fact that the country continues to register COVID-19 cases and their services are particularly in high demand at the moment.
According to Ernest Badu, if authorities refuse their demand, services such as the blood bank, COVID-19 testing centre, the microbiology lab, and the pathology lab would be closed down.
The exact reasons for the group rejecting the two medical officers is still unclear, but Mr. Badu described it as “professional oppression.”
“The Ministry of Health is aware of this issue… The matter is at that level, and it is being resolved, so why will the other party [KATH] still continue to infuriate and inflame the matter by pushing medical officers to the lab,” Ernest Badu explained.