Medical laboratory workers at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra have begun an industrial strike on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, after management failed to address their longstanding concerns about work conditions and leadership structure. The sit-down strike was planned by the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital chapter of the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers Union and has already started impacting routine laboratory services at the facility.
The union served a statutory notice to hospital management, the Ministry of Health and the National Labour Commission in late January, warning that unresolved issues would lead to a withdrawal of services from the first week of February. With no satisfactory response from management, workers commenced the industrial action early on Wednesday as scheduled.
Under the first phase of the action, set to run from February 4 to February 8, non-emergency Out-Patient Department laboratory operations are suspended and only skeletal staff will attend to urgent tests for in-patients. Other services, including routine sample processing and follow-up work, will not be carried out during this period, union officials have said.
The planned second phase, beginning February 9, is expected to see a full withdrawal of all laboratory services at the hospital, including at the Blood Bank and Cardiothoracic Centre, unless management addresses the union’s demands. The union argues that repeated calls for the appointment of substantive laboratory leadership and for clearer operational structures have gone unanswered.
Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is one of the largest health facilities in the country, and the strike is likely to affect patient care and diagnostic services unless a resolution is reached. Hospital management has not yet issued an official statement on the strike, and talks between the union and authorities are expected to continue.
