• Oppose tax policies, salary issues, funding cuts, brain drain  

Public sector medical officers and university lecturers conducted an island-wide token strike yesterday (2). 

The trade union action was initiated as a protest against the Government’s tax policies and delays in providing solutions for salary related issues.

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) on Wednesday (1) announced that its members would resort to a series of provincial level 24-hour token strikes from yesterday, starting from the Uva Province. Accordingly, medical officers at all Government hospitals in the Uva Province have been on a 24-hour strike since 8 a.m. yesterday(2) . After they call off the strike at 8 a.m. today (3), medical officers in the Northern Province will commence their one-day token strike. Subsequently, medical officers in the North Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces will stage their 24-hour token strikes on 6 November and 7 November, respectively. On 8 November, token strikes are expected at hospitals in the Central and Eastern Provinces. Medical officers in the Southern and North Central Provinces will join the series of token strikes on 9 November, followed by medical officers in the Western Province on 10 November. The GMOA however assured that the functions at maternity, cancer, children’s, and nephrology hospitals as well as at tri-forces hospitals would not be affected by this trade union action. The Association said that the authorities, who have turned a blind eye to the issues it has raised including the brain drain of doctors, should take responsibility for the inconveniences faced by the patients as a result of these token strikes.

Meanwhile, the lecturers at all 17 state universities in the country too launched a token strike yesterday, as per a decision taken by the State Service Trade Unions Alliance and the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA). The trade union action was initiated as a protest against the prevailing salary issues and the slashing of funds granted to state universities.

Meanwhile, the Professionals’ Trade Union Collective staged a protest march in Colombo yesterday against the Pay As You Earn taxation and the Government’s “arbitrary tax policy”. The FUTA, the GMOA and several other trade unions had taken part in the relevant protest march.