By: Ousman Saidykhan
Association of Public and Environmental Health Officers of the Gambia (APEHOG) are said to resume work today 1st August 2022 as the Health Ministry lifts the suspension a month after it was imposed on them.
In July 2022, the Ministry suspended three hundred and seventy-one (371) health workers who were on a sit-down strike. The suspension was supposed to last for two months but after serving a month, the decision has been rescinded in a document seen by The Fatu Network.
“This office would like you to convey to all the affected staff that in connection to the decision of the Public Service Commission lifting the suspension, the Ministry of Health wishes to call on all concerned Public and Environmental Health Officers affected by the suspension to return to their duty post with effect from 1st August 2022.”
“It’s true, the suspension has been reduced to 1 month instead of 2,” the President of APEOGH Nuha Fofana confirmed to this media via WhatsApp.
APEHOG embarked on a sit-down strike in June over demands that the Health Ministry include them in the new allowance scheme. The Ministry proposed a specific allowance for medical doctors and others, which the association deemed discriminatory to other cadres within the health sector. They demanded this be suspended.
“Once again, this office wishes to reiterate that it is open to dialogue and believes it is the only way to resolving issues of personal and national concern or interest,” the Ministry added in a statement.
After the suspension was imposed on them, the association set up a task force to dialogue with the authorities over a possible reconsideration of their decision on the suspension as well as their demands. They are still holding fast to their demands.
“Yeah, it [the allowance scheme] has been approved at the cabinet level and it is now left with the approval of the National Assembly,” Mr Fofana said.
