(COLOMBO) – An all-island strike by Sri Lankan Government doctors planned for Wednesday was called off after successful discussions with the relevant authorities, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) said in a statement.
“This decision was reached after the Director General of Health Services, issued a written notification to the Directors and Heads of all Health Institutions, agreeing to the Rs. 35,000 payment of the Disturbance, Availability and Transport (DAT) allowance to doctors.
The strike threat by the doctors came after the authorities suddenly decided to suspend the allowance as agreed earlier citing insufficient funds in the State coffers.
The allowance is to be paid through a special voucher to the doctors for the month of January, the GMOA said.
The GMOA also expressed their gratitude to the relevant authorities led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who intervened in order to defeat the ‘arbitrary behaviour’ of some of the officials of the Ministry of Finance.
On January 8, the Cabinet of Ministers gave its approval to President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal to double the DAT allowance paid to Government doctors, raising it from Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 70,000.
Since then, the health sector employees’ trade unions representing a wide range of health sector professionals, including radiology and laboratory technicians, pharmacists and drug compounders, midwives, Public Health Inspectors, and entomology officers launched strikes on multiple occasions in protest of the government’s decision and demanding an allowance increase for all health sector employees.
