Supplementary Medical Professionals: Four unions withdraw from strike

The strike initiated by the Joint Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine (JCPSM) concluded at 8:00 a.m. today (June 7), with four out of its five affiliated unions deciding to call off the industrial action.

JCPSM General Secretary, Chanaka Dharmawickrama, stated that the decision to end the strike was made in consideration of the inconvenience it had caused to patients.

However, he noted that medical laboratory professionals will continue their strike action.

JCPSM launched the strike at 8:00 a.m. on June 5 over several longstanding issues, including delays in promotions, non-payment of weekend and holiday allowances, inadequate recruitment of graduates, discrepancies in salaries and allowances, and the failure to honor agreements regarding retirement conditions and internship placements.

The strike significantly disrupted healthcare services, causing severe inconvenience to patients across the country.

Despite this, the unions initially opted to continue the strike, expressing dissatisfaction over the lack of intervention by the Minister of Health to address their demands.

Ultimately, four of the five unions under the JCPSM decided to withdraw from the strike, while the medical laboratory professionals remain on strike until further notice.