The Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union (MELPWU) is calling on the government to urgently issue long-delayed financial clearances for its members, warning that continued inaction could spark widespread industrial action across the country’s health sector.

At a press briefing held in Accra on Thursday, union leaders expressed growing frustration over what they described as “persistent neglect” of laboratory professionals within the public health system. According to the union, hundreds of qualified professionals remain in limbo due to stalled financial approvals, preventing them from being formally employed despite passing all required recruitment stages.

“The silence from the Ministry of Finance is not only unacceptable but also a clear threat to the stability of our healthcare system,” said Cephas Kofi Akortor, General Secretary of MELPWU. “We have exercised patience, but that patience is wearing thin.”

The union warned that failure to address their concerns could lead to service interruptions in diagnostic laboratories nationwide — a scenario that would critically impact patient care, especially in public hospitals already strained by personnel shortages.

MELPWU is also demanding the implementation of agreed-upon conditions of service and the correction of salary disparities affecting members who perform essential frontline duties but feel consistently undervalued.

The Ministry of Health has yet to issue a response, but sources indicate preliminary engagements are underway. Meanwhile, the union has given government a two-week ultimatum to act or face “concerted national action.”

With the possibility of a healthcare disruption looming, analysts say the government must move quickly to avert a crisis that could affect diagnostics, disease surveillance, and general patient care across Ghana’s health facilities.