Health workers determined to continue their struggle

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Federation of Health Professionals would continue their strike over seven demands, including resolving long standing salary anomalies, convener of the Federation Ravi Kumudesh told The Island yesterday.

Kumudesh said that they were backed by 65,000 health professionals and instead of listening to their grievances, the government was all out to suppress them.

“We met on Sunday at around 11 and unanimously decided to continue with our strike. The representatives of the unions condemn the government’s attempt to violate their Constitutional rights. We believe that the Health Ministry deliberately refrained from addressing our grievances although we had been bringing these issues up for months,” he said.

Kumudesh urged the Secretary to the Ministry of Health to convene a meeting with all stakeholders to discuss a solution. “The Ministry, which has done a lot to weaken the healthcare system, now pretends that it cares about the patients,” he said.

On Saturday (12) GNOA President Saman Rathnapriya said that his union would temporarily suspend their strike following an enjoining order on 10 February, The President’s Office, on 11 February, announced that an extraordinary Gazette notification had been issued declaring all health services, work or labour required in connection with the treatment of patients in hospitals, nursing homes, dispensaries and other similar institutions as essential services. However, the health sector unions have ignored the gazette.