By Sheain Fernandopulle  

A fresh attempt is underway by certain health ministry officials with the blessings of high office bearers of a powerful trade union to undermine the undertaking given by the Health Ministry Secretary to the Court of Appeal on the retirement of medical specialists, two medical specialists alleged on behalf of the 176 petitioners.  

A total of 176 specialist doctors have filed a petition in the Court of Appeal saying that it is unfair to change the retirement age privilege from 60 to 63. This undertaking by the health secretary is to minimize the current shortage of medical specialists in the country.   

“In this context, an attempt is being made to include a new provision to this undertaking suggesting to forcefully transfer specialists holding end posts (non-transferable posts) after a certain age. This will inevitably result in more court cases by specialists holding end posts or many of them opting to retire adding to the shortage and making the undertaking by the secretary health meaningless,” the two medical specialists told Daily Mirror.  

“Some of the specialists holding end posts are in certain teaching hospitals due to the highly specialized nature of such specialties and they will not have any places to go if they are asked to vacate their end posts let’s say at sixty years,” they added.   

Moreover, the medical specialists articulated “The current state policy is not to transfer officers close to the retirement age and if a specialist holding an end post is asked to leave that post, it clearly violates this state policy,”   

Furthermore, this new inclusion needs the change of current service minute/ transfer policy of specialists on end posts as the current transfer policy is not linked to the retirement age to create vacancies. All this will complicate the given undertaking of the health secretary and drag the issue further.  

However, medical specialists are of the view that specialists holding end posts should retire at some age but it should not be done in an arbitrary manner undermining the current undertaking. 

Medical specialists holding end posts should retire at 60: GMOA

By Sheain Fernandopulle  

In the backdrop of the undertaking by the Appeal Court regarding the retirement age of medical specialists, the Government Medical Officers’ Association has written to the Secretary to the Ministry of Health requesting him to explore a mechanism to serve justice to junior specialists by allowing specialists holding end posts to retire after a certain age limit.  
In a letter addressed to the Ministry to the Ministry of Health S. Janaka Sri Chandraguptha, the GMOA said they supported the extension of retirement age of all Grades of Medical officers up to 63 years, provided following conditions are fulfilled.  

1. Even if the compulsory retirement age is to be extended up to 63 years, those who wish to retire after completing 60 years of age, should be able to retire without losing any retirement benefits, which they are entitled as per Public Administration circulars, which are common to all Government Servants.   

2. For Specialist Grade Medical Officers and Administrative Grade Medical Officers who are holding end posts, a mechanism should be explored to serve justice to their junior colleagues by not allowing them to hold end posts, after a certain age limit We would appreciate, if you could include aforementioned conditions, which were approved unanimously at General Committee of GMOA, during the preparation of either the cabinet paper or Departmental circular.