By Shamindra Ferdinando

The recent salary increase granted to teachers, in violation of the national salaries and wages policy as well as far-reaching changes proposed in the health sector, would cause a catastrophic situation, Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) spokesman Dr. Prasad Colombage said.

Referring to the crippling trade union action resorted to by 18 health sector trade union grouping, alleging salary anomalies as a result of the increase granted to teachers, Dr. Colombage emphasised that the GMOA strongly advised against the move at the very beginning of the teachers’ strike.

The government owed an explanation whether the administration consulted the National Pay Commission (NPC) before the implementation of the new salary structure for teachers, Dr. Colombage said. The NPC should set the record straight, the GMOA official said, urging the government to re-examine the entire salary structure before the situation deteriorated any further.

“The country is experiencing such a difficult period due to the economic crisis in the wake of the continuing Covid-19 epidemic, and it cannot stomach further shocks”, Dr. Colombage said.

The GMOA official questioned the responsibility on the part of both political leadership and the NPC to address the issue at hand rationally. One-time Secretary to the Labour Ministry Upali Wijayaweera heads the NPC.

The NPC consists of Mrs. Chandrani Senaratne, Gotabhaya Jayaratne, Mrs. Sujatha Cooray, Dr. Madura Wehalle, M.S.D. Ranasiri, Dr. Ananda Hapugoda, Sanjeewa Somaratne, Ajith Nayanakantha, Dr. Ravi Liyanage, Sanath Ediriweera, Prof. Ranjith Senarathna, Eng R.M. Amarasekara, Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Siri Ranaweera, and W.H. Piyadasa.

Dr. Colombage stressed that if the NPC remained silent when politicians caused mayhem, the outfit should be held accountable for the deterioration caused. Appointed in terms of Article 33 of the Constitution, the NPC is responsible for the national salaries and wages policy including monetary remuneration and various other non-monetary facilities of the Public Services. Provincial Public Service and Armed Services and Special Institutions the salaries of whose staff are met by the Consolidated Fund, State Corporations and Statutory Boards, Government-owned Companies, State Enterprises, State Banks including Central Bank of Sri Lanka and other Financial institutions and all spheres of the Public Service as a whole including all regulatory institutions come within the purview of the NPC.

Responding to another query, Dr. Colombage expressed concern that the current agenda of those at the helm of political power and some trade unions seemed aimed at doing away with the existing system. In other words, they appeared to be working in unison to undermine the very basis of the NPC, Dr. Colombage said. Perhaps all political parties represented in Parliament and public sector trade unions should explain their stand on salary issues, he said.

The real issue was almost all those who threw their weight behind the teachers’ strike were now exploiting the situation. Various other sectors would soon join the campaign, Dr. Colombage said, adding that ‘’the government seemed either ignorant of the danger or allowing further deterioration of the public sector with the ulterior motive of privatizing health services.

Dr. Colombage insisted that the GMOA was not in any way for resolving salary anomalies of teachers or any other profession in any ad hoc manner. However, the NPC maintained at the taxpayers’ expense should have been responsible for managing the overall process, Dr. Colombage said. Unfortunately, the politicians who wanted to be in the driving seat at the expense of the NPC had ruined the setup, the spokesman for the powerful doctors’ union said.

“Irreparable damage has been caused to the national salary and wages policy. It wouldn’t be an easy task to take damage control measures,” he said.

Commenting on the proposed token strike on Monday (21) meant to highlight the crisis caused by the government by acting contrary to the national policy as regards salaries and wages, Dr. Colombage urged the ruling coalition to address the issue at hand or face the consequences. Another matter of serious concern is the push for accommodation of nurses in the proposed University outside the Z score, Dr. Colombage said. That would create an unprecedented crisis as the process would be automatically outside the purview of the University Grants Commission (UGC) once the requirement for Z score was done away with, the GMOA spokesperson said.