Sixteen (16) health sector trade unions have decided to stage a protest in front of the Health Ministry tomorrow (17).
The trade unions have also announced a two-day strike on the 24th and 25th of November 2021.
The health sector trade unions are staging the protest tomorrow over several demands, including those pertaining to eliminating the anomalies in promotions and the issuance of promotion-related circulars, and increasing special allowances.
The decision to stage the protest comes after the unions had given Health Ministry officials an ultimatum of one week to seek an answer for their demands, which the authorities had failed to address.
Government Nursing Officers’ Association (GNOA) President Saman Rathnapriya said that the Health Ministry is yet to respond to their strike action which was held on 9th November and that therefore, one week was given for them to provide an answer.
Rathnapriya said around 2,000 union members will participate in the protest, adding that 16 trade unions affiliated with the health sector including nurses, pharmacists, medical laboratory technologists, public health inspectors (PHIs), and midwives will participate in this trade union action.
Meanwhile, Rathnapriya also confirmed that the 16 health sector trade unions have also decided to stage a strike action on 24th and 25th November covering all the hospitals in Sri Lanka.
“There are around 1,103 hospitals in Sri Lanka and the strike would take place everywhere except at those which provide emergency services such as those for cancer patients and those that provide child care,” he added. (NewsWire)