News

Health trade unions to launch hourly protests

Published

12 months ago

2022/06/17

By Sujeewa Thathsara

The All Ceylon Health Trade Union Federation (ACHTUF) had decided to launch a series of protests opposite main hospitals across the country from 12 noon on 20 June, ACHTUF General Secretary Mahinda Guruge said.

Guruge said that they were protesting against the reduction of health staff and allowances, the increasingly severe medicine and equipment shortages, transport issues that health workers faced and the drop in the standards of food given to resident patients.

“We will hold protests at all main hospitals. “We will also start educating patients on why we are protesting”, he said.

Guruge said that the mismanagement and lethargy of the government and officials of the Health Ministry had driven the unions to protest.

“Everything is in a state of collapse. The food we provide to elderly and children who are undergoing residential treatment is of subpar quality. We know that nutrition plays a big role in recovery. That is why we try to give a nutritious meal at hospitals. Now we often give them rice and coconut sambol”, he said.

Guruge said that most health workers from specialist doctors to minor staff found it difficult to travel to work for want of fuel. Gas stations did not offer health workers fuel on a priority basis despite a government assurance, he said.

“The government had declared health as an essential service, but how could people even come to work?” he asked.

Earlier this week, President of the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) Dr. LakKumar Fernando reminded Health Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella that Health Ministry had not yet taken any practical and viable measures to ease the crippling effects of the current fuel crisis on medical specialists and other healthcare workers.

In his letter to the Health Minister, Dr. Fernando said that reaching the workplace has become a near impossible task for all medical specialists, and other healthcare workers, due to the worsening fuel crisis.

The lack of fuel not only affects routine work, but also makes it impossible for most health workers to return to hospitals, after working hours, in case of emergencies encountered in healthcare delivery.

“If health staff can’t make it to their workplace on time, this can have life and death consequences. When there is a medical emergency, one can’t go by bus or train,” he said.

Since there are no visible solutions to the fuel crisis in the near future, AMS will be compelled to advise our members to “work from home.” However, this will put many innocent lives in danger in certain instances, which is sadly due to reasons way beyond the control of health staff.

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News

Landslide Early Warnings issued to Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya Districts

Published

45 mins ago

2023/06/9

Priyan

The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued landslide early warnings to Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya Districts.

Accordingly level I landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions of Pasbage Korale in the Kandy District, Yatiyanthota and Deraniyagala in the Kegalle District and Ambagamuwa in the Nuwara Eliya District.

Latest News

Expedite Action Plan for Reconciliation – President

Published

59 mins ago

2023/06/9

Priyan

President Ranil Wickremesinghe convened a discussion at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday afternoon (08) to address the Action Plan for Reconciliation and instructed the relevant departments to expedite the drafting of legislation necessary for the plan’s implementation.

The progress of initiatives within five key areas -legislation, institutional activities, land issues, prisoner release, and power decentralization, was also reviewed.

The discussion encompassed several important topics including the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the establishment of a National Land Council and the formulation of a National Land Policy.

Additionally, the President emphasized the need for enhanced operations of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), including digitization efforts and the issuance of Certificates of Absence for individuals who had previously disappeared without trace.

Business

National Trade Facilitation Committee Secretariat to be established

Published

6 hours ago

2023/06/9

Priyan

The NTFC review meeting in progress

In an effort to accelerate trade facilitation commitments and bolster the business landscape in Sri Lanka, a high-level review of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) was conducted at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday (7).

The review focused on assessing the progress of trade facilitation commitments and scrutinizing the performance of the NTFC Secretariat. The private sector also voiced their views on expediting actions to ensure the completion of measures ahead of the projected timeline of 2025-2030.

In order to streamline compliance and optimize performance, several directives were issued during the meeting. Firstly, it was decided to establish the NTFC Secretariat under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance. Secondly, immediate measures to be taken to address the staffing requirements of the Secretariat and lastly, the budget allocated for the NTFC Secretariat in 2023, currently under the Department of Customs, was to be transferred to the Ministry of Finance to prioritize pending actions such as the development of the NTFC website and progress reporting system.

During the meeting, deliberations took place concerning the proposed National Single Window, a system aimed at simplifying and expediting trade processes. The participants agreed to expedite the submission of the proposal in a sequential manner to ensure its swift implementation.