Development Officers Call in Sick, Doctors Take to the Street: The Public Service Tests the Government Before the Budget

On Monday 9 November, Development Officers across Sri Lanka reported sick in a coordinated trade union action. Newswire and Onlanka reported that an alliance of 12 unions, covering central government and all nine provincial councils including the North and East, organised the protest. Development Officers do much of the day-to-day administrative work in ministries, departments, provincial councils, land and accounts divisions, and registration and immigration offices, so the action was expected to slow services for the public.

On the same day, the Government Medical Officers’ Association announced a protest outside the National Hospital in Colombo on 10 November, Sri Lanka Mirror reported. The GMOA said routine hospital services would continue and that this was not a strike, but warned it could be the first step towards further trade union action.

What the officers want

Development Officers say their grievances are about career structure, not only pay. In an October announcement reported by Lanka News Web, union leader Dhammika Munasinghe listed the lack of a clear framework of duties, the lack of a promotion scheme, waits of about ten years between grades, no higher grade to be promoted into, and delays in confirming officers in permanent posts after training. Salary disparities were also raised. He said the present government had come to office promising to fix these problems.

A media coordinator for another union alliance told Sri Lanka Mirror that many Development Officers had worked to bring the current government to power, and that their request for a formal service minute had produced no positive response from the Public Service Commission. He also alleged that a government MP who was formerly a Development Officer was obstructing the effort. That is an allegation, and no response from the MP has been reported. Anuradha Seneviratne of the All Ceylon Development Officers’ Union said the unions want to meet the President, the Prime Minister and the relevant ministers, and warned of stronger action if they are not heard.

The doctors’ warning

GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe told a media briefing that members had waited two and a half years for solutions, Sri Lanka Mirror reported.

Why it matters now

The timing is not an accident. The President, who is also Finance Minister, presents the 2027 Budget on 12 November. The IMF has said its next tranche of about US$345 million depends on a Budget consistent with programme targets, the Daily FT reported, and Reuters reported a 2027 target of a 2.6 per cent of GDP primary surplus. That leaves little room for large pay rises across the public service.

Lanka Witness has not seen any public government response to the Development Officers’ demands, and none was reported by the outlets we reviewed. Public servants are entitled to a clear answer before the Budget, even if that answer is no: what can be afforded, what will be phased, and when a service minute will be finalised.