Doctors, nurses, and midwives will stop providing services on July 28 due to a 20% pay increase.
Health workers will join a strike called by labor unions.
Four teacher unions have declared a strike.
COLA of 20% is demanded by labor unions.
The Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Health Services Workers' Union (HSWU) and Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) have announced their intention to withdraw their services from July 28, 2022.
According to the four health labor groups, the decision to withdraw their services was made due to the government's failure to respond to their request for a 20% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for its members due to the country's current hardship.
In a joint statement issued on July 13, 2021, the health professionals stated that if the government fails to meet their demands, they will go on strike, with a gradual withdrawal of their services beginning on Thursday, July 28.
"We, therefore, serve notice to the government as an employer that if COLA negotiations are not completed by 22nd July 2022, the aforementioned health sector unions will have no choice but to embark on a series of actions as outlined below, which will undoubtedly disrupt industrial harmony within the health sector."
"25th to 27th July 2022 - wearing of red arm/wrist bands in all health facilities; 28th to 31st July 2022 - withdrawal of Out-Patient Department (OPD) Services; 1st August 2022 - withdrawal of OPD and In-patient services," the statement said in part.
Already, four pre-tertiary teacher unions (Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana, and Teachers and Educational Workers Union) have been on strike since July 4, 2022, to press their demands for a 20% CLA (COLA).
Other labor unions, including the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU), have declared their intention to strike over the same issue.
On Wednesday, July 13, 2022, the Senior Staff Association of the Universities of Ghana (SSA UOG) declared a strike.
Meanwhile, the government has urged the agitating labor unions to remain calm while attempting to address their concerns through engagement.
According to labor unions, the demand for a 20% COLA stems from the country's rising cost of living.
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