Roughly 30,000 public sector health employees, including nurses and paramedics, participated in nationwide two-day protests on March 17 and 18 against the cuts to their professional entitlements in the Sri Lankan government’s budget proposals.

On March 17, the Government Nursing Officers Union (GNOU) called a three-and-a-half-hour-stoppage. The next day, seven trade unions from the Joint Federation of Paramedic Professionals and eleven unions from the Joint Front of Paramedic Services called a 24-hour strike from 7 a.m.

Nurses, public health inspectors, midwives, ECG technicians, radiographers, laboratory technicians and pharmacists took part in these actions.

Their main demands were for the restoration of former rates for overtime and holiday work. These were slashed in the budget proposals for 2025 presented by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna/National People’s Power (JVP/NPP) government.

Earlier, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) had announced a one-day token strike for March 5, demanding the reversal of cuts to doctors’ allowances. The Health Trade Unions Alliance (HTUA), representing radiology and laboratory technicians, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, public health inspectors and entomologists, had called a two-day strike for March 6 and 7.

However, these unions called off their protests, claiming that Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa had given them “written assurances” that there would be a discussion on the issues with the treasury secretary within a week.

These promises were made just to suppress health employees’ actions, for fear they would encourage struggles by other sections of workers. Opposition among broader sections of state employees is also rising because they were offered small pay increases, spread over three years. These pay rises are not in any way adequate to compensate for the erosion of the real value of their wages during the past three years.

At a press conference on March 17, GNOU leader Saman Ratnapriya said that although all relevant finance ministry officials were present at the promised discussion, they had “no satisfactory response to the injustices caused by the budget.” He said: “As nothing was received, we are compelled to proceed with our planned actions.”

Ratnapriya is a leader of the discredited right-wing United National Party of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. He fully supported the brutal International Monetary Fund (IMF) austerity program during the rule of Wickremesinghe, who employed Ratnapriya as his labour advisor. Ratnapriya’s show of opposition to the budget cuts is only aimed at heading off the health employees’ unrest.

HTUA leader Ravi Kumudesh sought to excuse the government. He told the media: “This government alone should not be responsible for these things. The IMF had directed the government that only 3.2 billion rupees ($US10.8 million) should be allocated when preparing the state sector salaries.” He said that without discussing the issue with the IMF, the government had gone wrong.

Like other union apparatuses, the Kumudesh-led health sector union bureaucrats are also fully backing the IMF program. They have limited workers’ protests to the bare minimum to discourage and dissipate their anger.

Public Services United Nurses Union (PSUNU) official Muruththettuwe Ananda, a Buddhist monk who supports the JVP/NPP government, met with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The Presidential Media Division reported that Ananda expressed “appreciation for the salary increments, highlighting that they have been well received by a significant portion of the public sector workforce.”

Welcoming his utterances, Dissanayake said the health union demands were unjustified.

The PSUNU leader’s claim, defending the IMF client regime of the JVP/NPP, is completely false. There is a widespread opposition among workers in the state sector, as well as in the private sector. For the past two years workers have repeatedly campaigned for higher salaries and pensions and against heavy workloads. It is the trade union apparatus that blocks workers’ struggles.

Speaking in parliament on March 18, Health Minister Jayatissa claimed the government had provided a considerable wage hike and accused union leaders of calling “politically motivated strikes.”

Trying to provoke people against the health workers, Jayatissa declared “they have taken patients as hostages.” This is the mantra of every regime in denouncing workers’ justified actions.

The JVP/NPP government’s threat to health employees is a warning that it is preparing for a major crackdown on the working class as a whole.

The pro-capitalist trade union bureaucracies oppose the independent mobilisation of the working class against the government’s systematic attack on the living and social conditions of workers and the poor under the IMF program.

Several health employees spoke to the World Socialist Web Site, voicing their opposition to budget cuts, the government’s attack on workers’ actions and the treachery of the union leaders.

A nurse from the Badulla Teaching Hospital commented: “I oppose the cuts to allowances from this year’s budget. We expected an increase of our salaries to match the cost of living. But there is no such increase to cover our expenses. JVP trade union officials tried in vain to convince us the salary increase is a win. However, our main struggle is for survival, and there is no solution for that.”

Expressing her disgust at the trade unions, she said she was earlier a member of the union led by Ratnapriya. After he joined the Wickremesinghe government and betrayed nurses’ struggles, “I quit the trade union. Many colleagues left unions for the same reason. The trade union officials of this government are against our struggles, inciting people against us.”

She said that due to the lack of staff, “we are compelled to bear a very heavy workload, not only in my section but in other sections, too. This is not sufficient when the size of the population is considered in Uva province. The dental unit has limited capacity. We can treat just about 80 patients a day.”

She also explained the dearth of medical facilities, including medicines.

An Emergency Treatment Unit nurse at Karapitiya hospital, near Galle, said: “The government made a fake salary increase in the budget. What actually happened was that the present wage was cut. We engaged in a protest against this.”

She criticised the fact that the existence of many unions divided workers according to grades and that union leaders’ actions discouraged members.

“We have not received solutions from the government. If the unions do not respond to this situation, we will form a common alliance to leave the unions. We need to discuss these things and find a way out.”

Priyantha, an attendant from Kandy National Hospital, commented: “During the strikes on March 17 and 18, a considerable number of nurses and paramedics participated, but the minor staff union did not join the strike. The paramedic unions advised their workers to remain at home.

“Now it seems that the trade union leaders have bowed following the health minister’s threat. It is clear that workers cannot achieve anything by discussing matters with the government. The reduction of health workers’ allowances is part of the attacks under the IMF program.

“Workers must prepare for a joint struggle for their rights, but they need to organise independently of the trade unions. I am a member of the Health Action Committee, and we are campaigning among health workers to mobilise such a struggle.”