President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today (02) agreed to fulfil five out of seven demands made by the Public Services United Nurses Union led by Ven Muruththettuwe Ananda thero, President’s Media Division said.
The Nurses were given assurance by the President to give the rest of the two demands from the next Budget.
The President took these decisions at a meeting held with the representatives of Public Services United Nurses Union at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon.
President Rajapaksa has decided to immediately implement the five demands of opening up of a University of Nursing, reinstatement of staff status which was suspended during the Yahapalana Government’s tenure by circular 32/2017 on 07.12.2017, reinstatement of the mechanism to make promotions from grade iii to grade ii in five years and Grade ii to Grade i in seven years,Rs.20,000 annual uniform allowance, and referral of the proposal to consider the current 36-hour working hours as five days (30 hours) a week, to a special committee.
The President also agreed to provide an allowance of Rs. 10,000 and an additional service allowance of 1/100 of the basic salary as mentioned in a circular issued by the Ministry of Finance on 24.12.2014 in the upcoming Budget.