System needed to maintain essential services: SLAS

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association emphasizes that the Government should take responsibility for the adverse consequences which could arise due to public frustration if state officials have to deviate from the essential services due to the pertaining fuel crisis.

The Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association has mentioned this in a letter directed to Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe.

They point out that there is an urgent need to declare a state of national emergency, appoint a competent authority to maintain essential services and establish a proper mechanism to protect the safety and rights of Government officials.

They point out that certain incidents that risk the security of State personnel have taken place, especially in the face of the current fuel crisis.

Accordingly, the Matara Divisional Secretary, who visited the Matara Hospital, was apparently forcibly pushed into a room, where a group of health workers acted in a manner that violated the health ethics of patient care, due to an issue which stemmed from the current fuel crisis.

The letter addressed to the Prime Minister also mentions that a group including the mayor of Kurunegala interfered with the duties of the secretary of the governor of the North Western Province, who supervised a fuel distribution program.

Therefore, the Public Administration Services Association stresses that if the Government hesitates to implement the law immediately in relation to the above cited two incidents, the trade unions will have to resort to strict action.