The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has called for the disturbance availability and transport allowance paid to medical professionals to be revised from the current Rs 70,000, noting that the allowance approved in 2018 was up to Rs 120,000.Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (16), GMOA Secretary Dr Ubaya Bandara Warakagoda said the revision was among several proposals submitted by the GMOA ahead of the 2027 Budget to improve the retention of medical professionals in Sri Lanka.

He stressed that the GMOA was not seeking a general salary hike, but a revision of benefits to which medical professionals were already entitled.“The allowance approved in 2018 was up to Rs 120,000, while it is currently Rs 70,000. There is a calculation based on several indices, similar to the Consumer Price Index. We believe it should be adjusted according to current inflation, exchange rates and fuel prices. This is something we deserve. It is not a salary hike,” he said.

Warakagoda said the GMOA was also seeking a revision of extra-duty payments, claiming that the increase in basic salaries had resulted in extra-duty and related allowances being calculated with a cut-off of around one-third.“This is also something we deserve,” he said.The GMOA has also called for the original purpose of the concessionary vehicle permit for doctors to be restored. Warakagoda said doctors were among the first categories entitled to the concessionary vehicle permit under Public Administration Circular 2299.

“These are not hikes or new benefits. We are asking for what we are entitled to,” he said.He said the GMOA had also submitted a proposal for the Sri Lanka Medical Service to be recognized as a separate service, noting that the Government had already accepted the concept in principle.Warakagoda said the proposals had two main objectives: retaining doctors who contribute to strengthening Sri Lanka’s health sector and ensuring that the medical workforce required to sustain the country’s free healthcare system remains in Sri Lanka.“We need to retain the doctors who are pioneers in taking the health sector forward and improving Sri Lanka’s position in the world. At the same time, we need to retain the workforce required to deliver free healthcare to everyone in this country, from the poorest person to a person living in Colombo 7,” he said.He added that the GMOA was awaiting discussions with the President, political authorities and relevant officials on the proposals submitted ahead of the 2027 Budget.