Leading nurses’ unions in the country launched an island-wide strike on Thursday (July 01), bringing operations at main hospitals to a standstill. The two-day trade union action was launched by the Public Service United Nurses’ Union, Government Nursing Officers’ Association and the All-Ceylon Nurses’ Association. Nursing staffs of all hospitals and health institutions – except specialized hospitals such as COVID treatment centres, women and children’s hospitals and the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama –joined the trade union action today. However, all nurses at specialized hospitals voluntarily reported for duty out of uniform and without marking attendance. The strike resulted in disruption of services at hospitals across the country, including the Colombo National Hospital, the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, the Colombo North Teaching Hospital, the National Eye Hospital and the Kandy National Hospital.

Source: The Nation July 01, 2021 18:00 UTC