Court halts doctors’ strike

The Colombo District Court yesterday issued an enjoining order to suspend the token strike by Sri Lanka’s doctors’ union, Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), scheduled to be held for Tuesday.

The court order prevents the GMOA from holding any trade union action for the next 14 days.

The 7000-member GMOA has planned to hold the token strike to protest against the private medical college and the alleged reprisals targeting the Chairman of the union, Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya.

The Colombo District Court has issued the order this morning after hearing a petition filed by a patient at the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital, Mrs. Juliana Dahanayaka, stating that the doctors’ action causes undue suffering to the patients.

Courts after hearing the petition has ordered that the GMOA not resort to any union action for the next 14 days.

The doctors’ union demanded the Bribery or Corruption Commission to return the personal file of Dr. Padeniya that was taken away illegally, as claimed by the GMOA, on September 27 and demanded the Commission to return the personal file by 12 noon on Monday (October 03). The union vowed to start a trike immediately unless their demand was granted.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the GMOA, Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe has said that the personal file of Dr. Padeniya has been returned by the Commission and the strike scheduled for Tuesday was called off.  The union said it has also learnt that the alleged bribery charges against Dr. Padeniya have been dropped.