The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) alleges that the government has not presented any of the proposals which were previously discussed and agreed with their union, through the 2024 Budget.

Joining a press briefing held this morning (14), Secretary of the GMOA Dr. Haritha Aluthge highlighted that they are paying special attention to what the government’s policy is with regard to doctors.

“One thing that can be seen in this budget is that there is a huge gap between what the government promised us and what was read out. There is no proper explanation even from the authorities regarding that gap.”

“What we asked the government was to provide economic justice for the doctors. At first glance, we do not see that a solution has been presented through the budget to get the required amount of stimulation for that purpose”, Dr. Aluthge emphasized.

“We look forward to an explanation from the authorities regarding this during the next few days. We hope to be patient and wait for the response from the authorities within these two or three days.”

He mentioned that following the consideration of the government’s response, the Central Committee of the GMOA will meet and decide on their future actions.

Against this backdrop, the Chief Secretary of the All Ceylon Nurses’ Association S.B. Mediwatta, also speaking to reporters, demanded that the salary increment of all health sector employees needs to come into effect from 01 January 2024.