Dengue duties halted as PHIs step up protest

The Sri Lanka Public Health Inspectors’ Association has suspended airport quarantine-related duties, including dengue investigations, across the country in protest over the transfer of a senior Public Health Inspector at the Bandaranaike International Airport Health Office and what it claims are serious administrative irregularities.

The union’s General Secretary Chamil Muthukuda said the decision was taken by its executive committee at a meeting on Wednesday night, with countrywide token strike action planned for Friday (21).

In a letter to the Secretary of the Ministry of Health, the association alleged that several complaints concerning suspected corruption, misuse of public funds and administrative misconduct at the Katunayake airport health office had previously been brought to the authorities’ attention but had not been properly investigated.

The association claimed that Senior Public Health Inspector B. H. Weerasekera was transferred arbitrarily after raising concerns over the alleged irregularities.

The union said all Public Health Inspectors had withdrawn from airport quarantine-related duties, including investigations involving dengue patients, from Thursday (20), while further trade union action would depend on the response from Health Ministry officials.

Muthukuda said the union was protesting what it described as the arbitrary transfer of the senior-most health official at the airport health office.

The association has called for Weerasekera to be reinstated in his previous post pending a proper investigation into the allegations.

It warned that evidence relating to the alleged irregularities would be submitted to relevant authorities for legal action.

The union is expected to decide on further industrial action based on the response from the Health Ministry.