The strikers will demand the solution of problems such as the shortage of medicines in state hospitals, and will reject authorities’ substitution of medicines with substandard supplies, the president of the Federation of Professionals, Ravi Kumudesh, told the Daily Mirror newspaper.

The healthcare workers’ representative told the press that government officials have failed to address these concerns despite sufficient time to resolve them.

Therefore, we will insist that urgent steps be taken to counter these problems, Kumudesh added.

The union is also demanding the immediate withdrawal of a recent regulation by the Ministry of Health Secretariat that advises public employees not to inform the media about the situation in the sector.

On Monday, more than 1000 people demonstrated in Colombo to demand the protection of pensions for fear of being affected by the reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to collect the three billion dollar bailout package it offered to Sri Lanka, which plunged into a serious economic crisis.

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