MELPWU calls For Implementation of Health Lab Policy
CEPHAS KOFI Akortor, General Secretary of Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union (MELPWU), has called for the implementation of the National Health Laboratory Policy (NHLP), developed in 2013 to serve as a blueprint for the expansion of laboratory services, to support healthcare programmes and promote quality healthcare delivery in the country.
The policy, if implemented, will provide a sustainable framework for the structured development and professional growth of Ghana’s laboratory system in the areas of quality management system, human resources management, laboratory testing, equipment and reagents.
The MELPWU General Secretary, who was speaking at the special annual general meeting (AGM) and swearing-in ceremony of executives of MELPWU in Kumasi recently, expressed optimism that the implementation of the policy, which was reviewed by the Ministry of Health in 2021, would provide an enabling working environment for medical laboratory professionals to effectively deliver on their sacred duties.
Alexander Awotwi, Acting Chief Labour Officer, led the new executives to swear the oath and secrecy.
Speaking on the theme, “The Changing World of Work, The Role of Trade Unions and the Employer in Industrial Relations,” he said it was necessary to have a streamlined working environment to make the national laboratory service system more proactive.
Awotwi noted that MELPWU was aware of steps being taken by government to place the medical laboratory profession under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) category. He, thus, called for a broader stakeholder consultation to ensure that the PPP arrangement is in the supreme interest of the nation before it is ever implemented.
Mahama Asei Seini, Deputy Minister of Health, congratulated MELPWU for acquiring its collective bargaining certificate that enhances its status in representing workers in its class.
He called for peaceful co-existence and productive cooperation among all unions and associations in the health sector.
Dr. Bernice Anowa Welbeck, Director of Administration and Human Resource of National Labour Commission, who was the Guest Speaker, urged them not to resort to strike actions as a way of getting their grievances heard, stating that strike actions should be the last thing on their cards.
Bright Wireko-Brobbey, Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations in his brief remarks asked them to be harmonious at the negotiation table to plead their needs if the need arises.
FROM David Afum & Stella Botwe, Kumasi