The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) strike entered its sixth consecutive day on Saturday, April 5, with doctors maintaining islandwide trade union action from 8 a.m. The GMOA executive committee met to evaluate whether to continue, escalate, or suspend the action.
Routine outpatient services across government hospitals remained heavily disrupted, with elderly patients, children, and low-income communities bearing the brunt. Emergency and essential services — including maternity hospitals, children’s hospitals, cancer treatment units, kidney units, tri-forces hospitals, and the National Institute of Mental Health — continued to operate normally.
The GMOA resumed full strike action on April 4 after three days of token action, citing the government’s failure to address alleged political interference in the post-intern appointments list and the difficult service transfer list for grade medical officers.
Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa has challenged the GMOA to take the dispute to court, while the association has attributed public inconvenience to those responsible for what it described as irregularities in the transfer process.
The strike, which began on March 31, has become the longest sustained medical trade union action in recent years, raising concerns about the impact on public healthcare delivery across the island.
This is a developing story. See our earlier coverage of Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.
