Healthcare gazetted as essential service as trade union action continues

February 13, 2024 07:54 pm

A special gazette notification has been published declaring the provision of healthcare as an essential public service.

Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake issued the communiqué on Tuesday (Feb.13), on the directives of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The communiqué was published in accordance with the powers vested in the President under Section 2 of the Essential Public Services Act No. 61 of 1979.

It reads that “all service, work or labour, of any description whatsoever, necessary or required to be done in connection with the maintenance, and the reception, care feeding, and treatment, of patients in hospitals, nursing homes, dispensaries, and other similar institution” are considered essential to the life of the community.

Disclaimer: All the comments will be moderated by the AD editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or slanderous. Please avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment and avoid typing all capitalized comments. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by flagging them(mouse over a comment and click the flag icon on the right side). Do use these forums to voice your opinions and create healthy discourse.