The Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union has formally announced an impending nationwide industrial action set to commence on May 12, 2026, citing what it characterises as the unlawful displacement of the Head of Laboratory Services at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
In a notification issued on Tuesday, May 5, pursuant to the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), the Union accused the hospital’s administration of contravening undertakings established during a high level stakeholder engagement convened by the Ministry of Health Ghana on February 3, 2026.
According to the Union, the designation of a Medical Laboratory Scientist to lead the department formed a central component of the resolutions that prompted it, alongside the Ghana Federation of Allied Health Professions, to defer a previously scheduled strike in a demonstration of good faith.
However, the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union contends that senior officials of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, including the Chief Executive Officer, the Director of Medical Affairs, and the Director of Human Resources, subsequently acted in a manner inconsistent with that understanding by rescinding the earlier decision and reassigning the appointed head in response to demands attributed to sections of the medical profession.
The Union further alleges that management imposed a physician to assume leadership of the department, a development it argues departs from the recognised governance framework for laboratory services and erodes established professional norms within the discipline.
It characterised the situation as a breach of binding administrative commitments reported to the National Labour Commission, a collapse of agreed dispute resolution mechanisms, and a development capable of undermining industrial stability across the healthcare sector.
Consequently, the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union has advanced a series of demands, including the immediate restoration of the Medical Laboratory Scientist to the position of Head of Laboratory Services at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, as well as full compliance with the earlier determinations reached under the supervision of the Ministry of Health Ghana.
In addition, the Union is advocating the formulation of a clearly defined leadership framework and the establishment of a distinct regulatory authority to supervise the professional conduct and operations of medical laboratory practitioners within Ghana.
The Union has also called for the removal or voluntary resignation of certain senior hospital figures, including Titus Beyuo, Y. S. Adam, and Frank Owusu-Sekyere, alleging partiality and conflicts of interest in the handling of the matter.
While maintaining its readiness to engage in urgent dialogue within the statutory notice interval, the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union cautioned that an absence of timely resolution could precipitate significant disruption to essential health services nationwide.
