Pending the receipt of written assurance from the Health Minister, of another meeting with the relevant authorities, health unions decided to continue the strike for the third consecutive day today (15); however, today’s strike, they stated, would be called off, if they received such written assurance by yesterday (14).
Speaking to The Daily Morning last evening after a meeting with the unions, HTUA Co-Convenor Upul Rohana said that while the 72 health unions have decided to continue the strike today, the said decision would be changed if Health Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana would, as promised, give them written assurance of a meeting with the relevant authorities.
“At the moment, all the trade unions have unanimously decided to continue the strike. But, after the decision was made, we were informed by the Health Minister that we would be given a meeting with him and the Finance Ministry on 19 February. We asked him to give it in writing. If we receive it, the strike would be called off,” he added.
Against this backdrop, a special gazette notification was issued on Tuesday (13) declaring the provision of healthcare as an essential public service. The Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake issued the communiqué on the directives of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The communiqué was published in accordance with the powers vested in the President under Section 2 of the Essential Public Services Act, No. 61 of 1979. It reads that “all service, work, or labour, of any description whatsoever, necessary or required to be done in connection with the maintenance and the reception, care, feeding, and treatment of patients in hospitals, nursing homes, dispensaries, and other similar institutions” are considered essential to the life of the community.
Meanwhile, the nurses, led by the All Ceylon Nurses’ Association, staged a protest march from the Colombo National Hospital to the Health Ministry, demanding solutions for their issues.
Elsewhere, the Army deployed its troops to State hospitals across the country yesterday in order to ensure uninterrupted access to essential healthcare services amidst an islandwide strike launched by health sector unions. This was after a request was made by the Health Ministry seeking assistance in managing the situation effectively
Unions representing a wide range of health sector professionals, including those in professions supplementary to medicine and paramedical services such as radiology and laboratory technicians, pharmacists and drug compounders, midwives, dental surgeons, public health inspectors, and entomology officers, but excluding doctors and nurses, have engaged in strikes on multiple occasions, demanding an allowance hike for them. On 8 January, the Cabinet of Ministers approved President Wickremesinghe’s proposal to double the disturbance, availability, and transport (DAT) allowance paid to Government doctors, raising it from Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 70,000. This compelled the other health workers to resort to TU actions.