Health, petroleum and electricity gazetted as essential services

A special gazette notification has been published declaring the supply of electricity and all related services, the supply or distribution of petroleum products and fuel, and health services as essential services.

Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake issued the communiqué on Tuesday (Oct. 17), on the directives of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The communiqué was published in accordance with the powers vested in the President under Section 2 of the Essential Public Services Act No. 61 of 1979.
     The announcement comes a month after these services were declared essential services in a Gazette Extraordinary published on September 17, 2023.

Previously, multiple announcements, dated 03 August 2022, 03 September 2022, 04 October 2022, 03 January 2023, 17 February 2023 and 17 May 2023 had been issued by President Wickremesinghe, declaring that these services as essential.