Doctors in Sri Lanka's state-run hospitals have gone on strike to demand higher pay, crippling services at the country's state-run hospitals.

The Government Medical Officers' Association said Friday's one-day strike was organized after the government failed to fulfill its 2008 pledge to nearly double doctors' salaries to roughly $220 a month.

The work stoppage prevented many patients from receiving treatment and undergoing critical medical procedures at Sri Lanka's state-run hospitals.