Nimal Sripala de Silva, Minister of Health, has appealed to the trade unions to co-operate with the government in implementing projects necessary to promote health. The trade unions should not stand in the way of implementing the new proposals.

He expressed this view in his speech on the budget and warned that his ministry will not in any way give in to such disruptive tactics by trade unions.

He has stated that as minister of health it was his duty to propose and implement projects to improve the health service with the future in mind rather than satisfying the electorates or voters.

He also complained that the majority of the people who are employed in the health sector are refusing to work in difficult areas or in areas where there is war. He explained that when the Ministry of Health takes stern measures against such employees, the trade unions were exerting pressure.

He went on to say that although these employees have their own problems, the government cannot suspend its health improvement projects. The health service in the North-East is moving at a slow pace as a result innocent civilians are very badly hit.

He also explained the sorry plight that there are large buildings in those areas but there are no medical equipments or human resources. Jaffna General Hospital is a teaching hospital but it does not have facilities or medicines available in the ordinary hospitals in the south. Issuing statements from Colombo to the media will not help. It is not reality. The government must consider all parts of the country equally. Villages need more attention than the urban areas.

Therefore we reiterate that what we need from the health sector is not words but deeds.

An English translation of the Editorial in Thinakkural, a Tamil daily, based in Colombo

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