GMOA to continue trade union action as talks with President end without resolution
COLOMBO – The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) announced that its ongoing trade union action will continue on Tuesday (18), citing the lack of a satisfactory response from the government to the union’s concerns.
The strike, which began at around 8:00 a.m. on Monday (17), was launched over several longstanding demands that the GMOA says were not addressed in the 2026 Budget presented by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. According to the union, the budget failed to resolve key issues affecting both the health service and medical professionals.
During the trade union action, doctors across the country limited services by prescribing medicines only to be purchased outside hospitals and referring patients to external laboratories for tests, instead of providing these services internally.
GMOA officials who attended the meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on Monday said the President had taken note of the union’s proposals and expressed willingness to explore “reasonable solutions”, but noted that while the President acknowledged the issues raised, no concrete assurances were given.
“The President’s attention was drawn to the proposals presented by the GMOA. He informed us that these matters would be discussed further, and he would look into the possibility of providing reasonable solutions,” GMOA Secretary Dr Prabath Sugathadasa said, adding that the GMOA will convene an emergency Executive Committee meeting and a Central Committee meeting to decide on the union’s next steps.
-ENCL
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