Hospitals in trouble because of doctors' strike ....
for having removed vehicle permit
Prime Minister agrees to grant permit
As a result of the all-island strike by doctors, all treatment procedures (apart from emergency
services) were disrupted in hospitals and thousands of patients were put into inconvenience.The reason for this strike was that the privileges due to them were removed from the budget, the relevant organisations had stated in the announcement released by them over the doctors' strike. But the real reason for the strike was the removal of the vehicle permit issued for the doctors, Nalin Herath, Secretary of the Government Doctors' Association had expressed ideas to the AFP Press. The Daily Mail quoting the AFP and other international media around the world had announced it as 'Sri Lanka doctors strike to demand tax-free cars'.
The budget this time had scrapped off the opportunity for those in the medical field and those at administrative capacity in obtaining vehicle permits and that too in a serious manner by just offering them a sum of Rupees one million instead. At the time the permits were available however they had the benefit of securing millions when purchasing a vehicle.
Whatever it is, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasingha had issued a statement in parliament this morning and has said that two vehicle permits would be made available to government servants once every 10 years at the most and that vehicle permits would be permitted once again as before. The health authorities have still not shown their response in this connection and the strike is still in operation at present.