The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has warned that it will launch continuous island-wide trade union action if the Health Minister fails to implement agreements reached to resolve key issues affecting the free health service and doctors.
The GMOA said the 2026 Budget presented by the President in November did not include short-term or long-term policies needed to address the real problems faced by the health sector and medical officers. This, the association said, led to serious unrest and protests within the health system.
Following several trade union actions launched by the GMOA, the actions were temporarily suspended after the Health Minister entered into written agreements with the association. These agreements included obtaining Cabinet approval for a proposal to create a special service category titled the “Sri Lanka Medical Service,” covering doctors of all categories, and taking further related action.
The agreements also covered updating the DAT allowance, resolving transport issues in line with Circular 22/99, converting the additional duty allowance into a fixed allowance, and initiating discussions with the Ministry of Finance from January 5, 2026, to resolve issues related to the research allowance.
However, the GMOA said the agreed measures were not implemented by January 5. As a result, an Emergency Central Committee meeting held on January 7 unanimously decided to authorize the Executive Council to take strict trade union action at any time if the issues remained unresolved.
Later the same day, an emergency discussion was held with the Health Minister, during which the association conveyed the strong dissatisfaction among its members over delays and what it described as violations of the agreements by the government and the Ministry of Health. At that meeting, the Minister reportedly agreed to announce a date and timeline to convene relevant stakeholders and begin discussions.
The matter was again discussed at a GMOA Executive Council meeting held on January 13, where it was decided to grant the Health Minister and the Health Ministry a further 10 days to implement the agreements and resolve the issues.
The GMOA said that if the issues are not resolved within this period, it will commence continuous island-wide trade union action from January 23.
The association said that despite adopting a flexible and reasonable approach to resolving health sector issues, what it described as unprofessional conduct and policy delays by the authorities are creating an unnecessary crisis in the free healthcare system.
The GMOA added that the current situation has raised serious doubts about the government’s commitment to protecting free healthcare, warning that it will take all necessary action to safeguard the public health service if the issues continue to be ignored.
