Labour expert, Austin Gamey, has criticised the strike action by doctors at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), insisting that medical practitioners are prohibited from embarking on industrial action because they provide essential services.
Speaking on ABC In The Morning, on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, Mr. Gamey stated that doctors fall under the category of essential service providers and are therefore restricted by labour laws from withdrawing their services through strikes.
“Doctors are essential service providers. They are prohibited from going on strike,” he said.
According to him, disputes involving essential service workers must be addressed through established labour relations mechanisms rather than industrial action.
Mr. Gamey explained that when grievances arise, the affected parties are expected to submit their concerns through the appropriate processes for resolution.
“They are supposed to have their matters submitted through processes,” he noted.
He further indicated that labour-related disputes involving essential service providers are expected to be resolved within 72 hours of their occurrence. Where parties are unable to reach a resolution at their level, he said the matter should be referred to the National Labour Commission (NLC) for intervention.
“Their matter should be resolved within 72 hours upon occurrence. If they can’t resolve it at their level, as it is now, they should escalate it to the National Labour Commission, who will sit on the matter within a certain number of days and have it resolved,” he explained.
Mr. Gamey expressed concern about the manner in which the KATH doctors are handling the dispute, arguing that the strike action undermines the procedures established under Ghana’s labour framework.
“Treating it the way they are treating it, it is a problem,” he stated.
He maintained that the doctors should have exhausted the available dispute resolution mechanisms before considering any form of industrial action.
“They shouldn’t have gone on strike in the first place,” Mr. Gamey stressed.
His comments come amid ongoing concerns over healthcare delivery at KATH following the strike action, with calls mounting for a swift resolution to the impasse through the appropriate labour institutions.
