News
Unions determined to go ahead with strike despite essential services gazette
GMOA threatens to cripple the country unless….
Public sector trade unions yesterday (28) vowed to go ahead with their one-day strike scheduled for today (01) to pressure the government to reverse new tax regime.
Spokesperson for the trade union collective, Ranjan Jayalal, told The Island that workers in sectors such as petroleum, electricity, ports, water supply and drainage, health, education, banking would join the strike.
Jayalal said that the issuance of an extraordinary gazette Monday (27) night declaring several sectors as essential services with immediate effect would not deter them.
The President’s Media Division (PMD) said that all services for passengers or goods, discharge, carriage, landing, storage, delivery and removal of articles of food or drink, or coal, oil, fuel from vessels within any port had been declared essential services.
The provision and maintenance of facilities for transport services by road, rail or air including roads, bridges, culverts, airports, ports and railway lines, too have been categorised under the essential services.
Declaring that the private sector, too, would join the strike, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) said that the recent talks a group of professionals had with President Wickremesinghe revealed the government’s determination to go ahead with the new tax regime.
GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge has, in a statement issued after an emergency meeting of their decision making body, warned that if the government ignored March 1 strike the trade union grouping would be compelled cripple the country anytime one week after today’s trade action.
The University Executive Officers’ Association, too, yesterday pledged its support for today’s strike. However, Gemunu Wijeratne speaking on behalf of a section of private bus operators said that they would maintain services.
Ananda Palitha, senior SJB trade union representative, said that they had the full backing of the Opposition. “We’ll gradually step up campaign leading to total crippling of the public sector by mid-next week,” Palitha told The Island. (SF)
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Docs to skip private practice today
A GMOA official said yesterday that its members wouldn’t engage in private practice on 01 March in support of the public sector trade union strike.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to award the contract for printing and supplying vehicle number plates for the Department of Motor Traffic for a period of five (5) years to M/s South Asian Technologies based on the recommendations of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee and the Procurement Appeal Board.
The National Lotteries board has been established subject to the Finance Act No. 11 of 1963. Having identified the requirement of amending that act which was imposed around 62 years to cater the current requirements of the lottery market, the Cabinet of Mnisters at their meeting held on 14.02.2017 granted approval to draft a new bill for the purpose.
Accordingly, the National Lotteries Board has recognized further amendments to be performed to the fundamental draft bill prepared by the Legal Draftsmen.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the
resolution furnished by the President in his office as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to direct the Legal Draftsmen to finalize the formulation of the draft bill for the National Lotteries Board as soon as possible including the proposed new amendments as well.
The Werahara office of the Department of Motor Traffic performs issuance of temporary driving licenses in this country based on the driving licenses issued overseas, and measures have been initiated to render the service from a service window of the Department of Motor Traffic established at the Bandaranayake International Airport from 03.08.2025.
The fees charged for issuing temporary driving licenses have been published in Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 prepared under the provisions of the Motor Traffic (Authority 203) Act.
But, as the fee of Rupees 2,000/- charged for the service is not sufficient, the requirement of amending the regulations has been recognized.
The regulations for introducing the revised fees have been published in the government extraordinary gazette
notification No. 2463/04 dated 17.11.2025. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to
submit the regulations to the Parliament for its concurrence.
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M/s South Asian Technologies awarded contract to supply vehicle number plates
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