The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has decided to call off its planned island-wide token strike, which was scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. today (August 25) in all government hospitals.
The decision came after discussions with Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, who provided a written assurance addressing the Association’s concerns.
On August 24, the GMOA had announced the strike citing several issues, including the risk of hospitals in remote areas shutting down, government influence on patients to purchase scarce medicines, and the looming threat of the collapse of the free healthcare system due to the shortage of quality medicines and essential equipment.
The Association also criticized the Ministry of Health for irregular, inefficient, and non-transparent practices in transferring doctors and assigning them to remote areas, which it claimed had “almost completely collapsed.”
GMOA Secretary Dr. Prabath Sugathadasa confirmed that following last night’s (24) special meeting with Minister Jayatissa and the Secretary to the Ministry of Health, the Association decided to withdraw its strike action based on the written commitment given by the Minister to fulfill their demands.
