A group of specialists is to send a letter of demand (LoD) to the relevant authorities, warning of legal action against them for allegedly ignoring and not complying with a judgement issued by the Court of Appeal (CA) last year (2023).
Concluding the hearing of an application filed by 176 medical specialists seeking a writ order against the former Government's decision to reduce the retirement age of medical officers (MOs) including medical specialists, grade MOs, registered MOs, and dentists, from 63 to 60 years, the CA, in December 2023, ruled that their retirement age should remain at 63 years. Subsequently, the Cabinet of Ministers also granted their approval to make their retirement age 63 years, but, the relevant gazette notification is yet to be issued.
Speaking to The Daily Morning, a medical specialist, who was among the said 176 petitioners, said that they were currently in the process of drafting a LoD, and that it would be sent to the relevant authorities including the Ministry of Public Administration. "Inaction or not implementing the judgement amounts to contempt of court. The Cabinet too decided to give effect to this CA judgment in June 2024. In spite of these decisions, the Public Administration Ministry failed to issue the necessary gazette notification. Failure to issue this gazette before 31 December will cause a large number (200) of specialists retiring at the end of 2024." Claiming that the retirement of such a large number of specialists would aggravate the already existing shortage of about 800 medical specialists in the State health sector, the specialist said that even the higher officials of the Health Ministry had, during a meeting held on 9 December, pointed out that such a loss could not be recovered.
Meanwhile, media reports, quoting Public Administration Ministry Secretary S. Aloka Bandara, stated that the Ministry is working to extend the retirement age of MOs to 63 years. The Secretary reportedly said that the Attorney General’s (AG) approval had been obtained, and that the necessary steps would be initiated next week. Attempts by The Daily Morning to reach Aloka Bandara for further confirmation were unsuccessful.
The Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) also said recently that if the relevant gazette would not be issued before 31 December, more than 1,000 MOs including about 250 medical specialists, 400 grade MOs, and 300 registered MOs, and a significant number of dentists would retire.