Health sector workers have decided to continue its strike launched over disparities in allowances, says the convenor of Health Trade Union Alliance, Chanaka Dharmawickrama.
A collective of 72 health trade unions resorted to a strike this morning (Feb.13) to urge the government to provide them with an allowance similar to that of the DAT (Disturbance, Availability and Transport) allowance given to doctors.
The trade unions representing a wide range of health sector professionals – including radiology and laboratory technicians, pharmacists and drug compounders, midwives, dental surgeons, public health inspectors, and entomology officers – have engaged in strikes time and time again over the past few months demanding an allowance hike for them.
The trade union actions stemmed from the Cabinet Ministers’ approval of a proposal tabled by President Ranil Wickremesinghe seeking to double the DAT allowance paid to government doctors, raising it from Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 70,000.
