Use dialogue to settle health sector issues

Last November, when Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa was on a visit to the United Kingdom, he took time to meet with Sri Lankan doctors at an event organised by the High Commission of Sri Lanka in London.

At the meeting, he made a special request to Sri Lankan specialist doctors currently practising abroad to return and re-join the public service in the country, stating that Sri Lanka was facing a shortage of specialist doctors and that the contributions of locally trained specialists are vital at this time. He noted that training a specialist doctor takes many years and, therefore, those who were educated and trained in Sri Lanka have a responsibility to serve their motherland, especially amid the ongoing economic and social challenges.

If they return, he promised they would be reinstated to their original grades along with all service benefits, and that steps will be taken to ensure they receive all essential amenities.

Three months down the line, Minister Jayatissa is saying something contradictory. Angered by threats of strikes by doctors, the Minister vowed not to give in to their threats.

“If anyone threatens the Government claiming that European jobs pay better, we won’t bend to those demands,” he warned, adding that no one was forcibly recruited by the Government and they should deliver.

This attitude is not altogether surprising. The JVP-led NPP, while in opposition, was in the vanguard of trade union actions and supported strikes not only by doctors but also by those in other sectors, including vital areas such as the electricity and energy sectors. Then they shifted all the blame to the Government in power even when thousands of people were inconvenienced by such strikes. But now the tables have turned and, hence, the trade unions that have not bent to the demands of the Government have become the villains.

Minister Jayatissa is a medical doctor and should have a better understanding of the challenges medical professionals in the country face. Doctors working in the state sector, particularly in the outstations, face many challenges. There are issues with transfers, promotions, etc., as well as salary issues, and these are all issues that have to be sorted through dialogue. In the medical field, more than any other, it’s the helpless patients who suffer the most, being caught in the tug-of-war between the two sides.

Those in Government have taken to eyeing trade unionists as the enemy now because they are against Government policy. In the case of the education reforms, trade unions that opposed the implementation of the reform without proper discussions have been labelled as saboteurs and accused of working for the Government’s political opponents.

The fact is that all Governments have been at the receiving end of trade union actions. It’s part and parcel of a democracy and has to be addressed through discussions. Many unionists were in the forefront of the election campaigns in 2024, which helped the NPP win convincingly. The support was extended with the hope that issues that were ignored by previous governments will be addressed by the NPP, which showcased itself as being a ‘people’s Government’ that would patiently listen to union demands.

But what’s happening now is putting the Government on a collision course with trade unions, particularly the powerful Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA). The GMOA clashed with powerful presidents such as J.R. Jayewardena and won. It’s unlikely it’ll buckle under threats from this Government either.

The GMOA and representatives of all health sector trade unions are now forging a unified approach to issues affecting the public health service. It’s a development which should concern the Health Minister and the Government as a whole. It’s better to extend an olive branch to the threatening trade unionists. Eventually, it will be the public who will suffer if the two sides don’t resolve their issues through discussions.