Govt. provoking TUs

Saturday 31st Junuary, 2026

The government has ignored the ultimatum given by the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA). Its intransigence will only drive the protesting doctors to intensify their trade union action, causing more suffering to patients.

The government has launched a propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the GMOA by claiming that the doctors are demanding pay hikes with no heed for the economic difficulties caused by Cyclone Ditwah. It has stretched the truth to bolster its claims, suppressing the fact that the protesting doctors have softened their stand and expressed their willingness to give up their trade union action if the government addresses the issues the resolution of which does not cost the state coffers anything. According to media reports, their demands include the establishment of a special service minute for doctors, enhancing the disturbance, availability, and transport allowance, converting the extra duty allowance into a fixed one, and the implementation of a written agreement with the Health Minister on resolving issues regarding a research allowance and transport.

What the government should do to prevent disruptions to the health sector is to bring the GMOA to the negotiating table forthwith and work out a compromise formula. But it has succumbed to the arrogance of power, which drives strong governments to bulldoze their way through. Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa has told the doctors that it’s his way or the highway.

The government is apparently cherishing the delusion that since it has a steamroller majority in Parliament, it can do as it pleases, and others have to obey its dictates. Let it be warned that it is inviting trouble. Mandates come with short lifespans, and hubris and downfall are neighbours. Its efforts to neutralise the GMOA have galvanised other health sector trade unions into joining forces; they know that if the government succeeds in flooring the GMOA, so to speak, they will have no chance whatsoever of winning their demands. It is popularly said in this country that “one who lays one’s hands on the gourd does not spare the pumpkin”. In fact, that seems to be the government’s strategy. It is dealing with protesting trade unions in such a way as to deter others from launching labour struggles. It has chosen to ignore a hunger strike by the Development Officers (DOs), attached to the state-run schools; they demanding that they be absorbed into the teacher service. The protesters campaigned hard for the JVP/NPP in the 2024 elections, expecting their fair demand to be met. These graduates have worked as teachers for about seven years, and there is no reason why the government cannot appoint them as teachers; they can be further trained, if need be, after being appointed as teachers. The DOs have received the typical karapincha (curry leaves) treatment from the government they helped elect—they have been used and discarded. The government has shown a callous disregard for not only their career prospects but also their dear lives. The DOs were informed yesterday evening that they could meet President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday (03 Feb). But NPP MP Chandna Sooriyaarachchi revealed to the media yesterday that all arrangements had been made for a competitive examination to be held soon!

The GMOA used to give short shrift to other health sector trade unions, and go to the extent of being critical of their labour struggles. It was labouring under the misconception that the state health institutions could operate without other categories of workers. They even sought to establish what may be described as a health sector trade union hierarchy modelled on the four-varna caste system, and place themselves at the top. Now, they have realised the need to cooperate with other trade unions instead of confronting them.

If the health sector trade unions close ranks, they will stand a better chance of winning their demands, and labour unions in other sectors will follow suit to boost their bargaining power. The government continues to provide its political opponents and trade unions with rallying points. Governments intoxicated with power think no end of themselves and behave like aggressive drunkards in shebeens only to receive sobering knocks in elections.

from The Island https://ift.tt/RCgcD0P