President, PM won’t meet striking unions

Neither the President nor the Prime Minister will in future engage in talks with trade unions that have already embarked on strike action.

This new policy, President Maithripala Sirisena told last Tuesday’s weekly Cabinet meeting was after his encounter with a delegation from the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA).

Hours after the meeting, the association representing state sector doctors issued a statement, giving its own version of what transpired at the meeting. This came ahead of a statement issued by Presidential Secretary P.B. Abeykoon. What the latter said was at variance with claims made by the GMOA.

President Sirisena said he had chosen to meet the GMOA delegation informally. That was why there were no other ministers or officials present. Hence, he had expected the trade union concerned to respect confidentiality. In future, he said, the minister in charge of the subject will be called upon to deal with the trade union concerned. It would be only in exceptional circumstances that he or the Premier would intervene.

President Sirisena’s meeting with the GMOA did irk Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne who went as far as calling it a “hora meeting” – a rogue meeting. Dr. Senaratne’s proposal to nationalise the Neville Fernando Hospital – attached to the South Asian Institute for Technology and Medicine (SAITM) -- has now been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. The GMOA wants the SAITM itself shut down or nationalised but insists that it should not be listed in the stock exchange. The hospital has been functioning as a private venture with 500 ward beds and 100 room beds.

The Government Valuer has said that the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital, part of SAITM, is worth Rs 3.55 billion. SAITM is also to be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange, in terms of a decision by the Cabinet of Ministers. To do this, Minister Senaratne has obtained approval together with Higher Education Minister Lakshman Kiriella to amend a Gazette notification to withdraw a condition that exists.

A Governing Board will manage SAITM. It shall consist of Vice Chancellor of SAITM, Deans of respective faculties, a Registrar, a Bursar, nominated independent experts from the fields of accountancy, Business Management, Marketing, Law and two persons recognised for distinguished services to the academia and administration.