The Health Services Trade Union Alliance (HSTUA) warned yesterday that they would resort to a work-to-rule campaign if the Health Ministry failed to allocate the adequate amount of money for health services. General Secretary of the HSTUA Ravi Kumudesh urged the Health Ministry to take immediate measures to increase the amount at least by 50 per cent in view of the December 26 tsunami.

He said the amount estimated for health services by the Health Ministry for 2005 was Rs. 3,250 million. However, the Treasury had only given the ministry Rs. 850 million. "Of course the tsunami disaster was not taken into consideration when the allocations were made," he pointed out.

Kumudesh said that the estimated amount for 2005 had been cut down by around 75 per cent while the health authorities had issued orders to hospital heads to work within the allocated budget.

"It has come to a state where hospital authorities or the health services are unable to carry out," he said.

Kumudesh pointed out that the health services were already working under a strain due to the lack of health cadres.

He said that the workers had no other alternative but to stick to the eight hours as they would not be paid for any services provided after normal working hours.