The Government Medical Officers’ Association states that due to the ongoing strikes in the health sector, there is an opinion in society that certain health services should be privatized. The secretary of the association, Dr. Naveen Zoysa, says that such an opinion is not very favorable.
Several trade unions in the health sector are already on strike and many hospitals across the country have been disrupted due to this. There was a discussion between the trade union representatives and the Minister of Health yesterday as well but failed to reach a solution.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association says that the main reason for the strike is resolving the teacher-principal salary issue. Dr. Naveen Zoysa points out that the government has taken steps to resolve the issue of teacher-principal salary anomalies by deviating from the national salary policy after a strike by teachers ‘and principals’ unions for several months.
The doctor also says that a serious crisis has been created in the public service by increasing the salaries of teachers and principals when a national salary policy has been formulated. He added that the discrediting of the public service further strengthens the view that the public service should be privatized.
