Sri Lanka’s doctors are preparing for continuous island-wide trade union action, warning that broken promises and policy delays now threaten the survival of the country’s free healthcare system.
The Government Medical Officers Association has announced that a series of continuous island-wide trade union actions will be launched if the Minister of Health fails to implement the agreements reached to resolve the escalating problems faced by doctors and the free health service. This warning was issued through an official press release, reflecting growing frustration and unrest within the health sector.
Press Release
A series of continuous island-wide trade union actions will be launched if the Minister of Health fails to implement the agreements reached to resolve the issues affecting the free health service and doctors.
The budget proposal for the year 2026, presented by the Honorable President last November, did not include any short-term or long-term policies or measures necessary to identify and address the real problems faced by the country’s health service and doctors. This omission led to serious unrest and protests within the health system and among health workers.
Accordingly, after the Government Medical Officers’ Association launched several industrial actions demanding solutions to the core issues affecting the health service and medical professionals, these actions were temporarily suspended based on written agreements provided by the Minister of Health.
The written agreements included the following:
- To obtain Cabinet approval for a paper drafted with the participation and agreement of all relevant parties to establish a special service category titled “Sri Lanka Medical Service,” incorporating doctors of all categories, and to take further necessary action.
- To update the DAT allowance of doctors, resolve transportation issues in accordance with Circular 22/99, convert the additional duty allowance into a fixed allowance, and initiate discussions with the Ministry of Finance from 05.01.2026.
In the backdrop of the failure to reach an agreement by 05.01.2026, the Emergency Central Committee Meeting of the Government Medical Officers’ Association held on 07.01.2026 unanimously decided to authorize the Executive Council to take strict professional action at any time if those responsible fail to resolve the issues.
On the same night, an emergency discussion was held with the Minister of Health to address these concerns. During this discussion, the Minister was informed of the strong dissatisfaction among the entire membership due to unnecessary delays in conducting relevant discussions and implementing agreed actions, as well as the government, the Minister of Health, and the Ministry of Health acting in violation of the agreements.
At that time, the Minister of Health agreed that a date and timeframe would be announced to convene the relevant stakeholders and commence discussions on these matters.
The prevailing situation was discussed at length at the Executive Council meeting of the Government Medical Officers’ Association held on 13.01.2026. It was decided to grant the Minister of Health and the Ministry of Health a period of ten days to implement the agreements and resolve the outstanding issues.
If the Ministry of Health fails to resolve these issues within the stipulated timeframe, the Executive Committee has unanimously decided to initiate island-wide continuous industrial action starting from 23.01.2026.
At a time when the Government Medical Officers’ Association is acting in a flexible and fair manner to resolve issues within the health system, the unprofessional, trust-breaking conduct and policies of the government, the Minister of Health, and other responsible authorities are creating an unnecessary crisis within the free health service.
The current actions of the government and the Ministry of Health have raised serious doubts regarding the integrity of the present administration’s stated commitment and policy of safeguarding free healthcare. We wish to emphasize that if the government continues to ignore the national necessity of implementing a strategic, time-bound plan to address issues such as the human resource crisis in hospitals and the drug shortage, and attempts to evade responsibility, the Government Medical Officers’ Association will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect and secure free healthcare.
