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SAITM crisis: As Govt. toughens stand, GMOA warns of lightning strikes
View(s):The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) will decide in the coming days when to launch a series of lightning strikes, which, it hopes, will force the Government to abandon its new tough stance on the dispute over the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM).
GMOA media spokesman Dr. Samantha Ananda addressing a news conference. Pic by Sameera Weerasekera
GMOA media spokesman Dr. Samantha Ananda said that at Thursday’s central committee meeting, the GMOA had decided to launch unannounced strikes and its executive committee would convene in the coming days to decide when to launch such strikes.
He told the Sunday Times that apart from health sector trade unions, they had approached teachers unions, and other unions in the railway, customs and petroleum sectors, seeking their support for the GMOA strikes.
Most of them had agreed in principle to extend their support, the spokesman claimed.
He said that with or without the support of other trade unions, the GMOA would continue with the new strategy until the Government nationalised the private medical institute.
Last Saturday, the GMOA called off a two-day strike that had paralysed public hospitals and caused hardships to tens of thousands of patients, after it held talks with President Maithripala Sirisena.
After this meeting, the GMOA claimed that the President had agreed to suspend further registration of students to SAITM and to strip the institution of its degree awarding status.
There was also agreement to convey the Government’s stance on the SAITM to the Supreme Court through the Attorney General.
A statement was issued by the Presidential Secretariat on Sunday explaining the steps the Government was willing to take in meeting the GMOA demands. But the GMOA expressed displeasure.
On Tuesday, Health Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne told a media conference that the SAITM would not be nationalised and the Government would not hold anymore talks with the GMOA since the doctors’ union was making unreasonable demands and had a political agenda.
In response, the GMOA vowed to launch lightning strikes until its demands were met.
“We stress on the nationalisation of the SAITM because according to accepted norms, medical education should be approved by a competent medical council. Therefore, we insist that SAITM should seek Sri Lanka Medical Council’s approval,” he said.
Dr. Ananda said the GMOA was not opposed to the Government’s decision to take over the Neville Fernando Hospital (NFH) which is attached to the SAITM. But this was not a solution to the overall problem, he said.
Meanwhile, SAITM registrar Husni Hussain said the enrollment of the new batch took place in May and the campus was functioning as usual. However, the next enrollment, due in September, had been suspended following a directive from the Higher Education Ministry.