The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe - Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development

¶ 01 Mr. Chairman, we are debating the Heads of two key Ministries today—Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, and Labour. I will focus on labour and wages.

¶ 02 Sri Lanka’s labour force is about 8.4 million—5.5 million men and 2.9 million women. Of these, 5.3 million men and 2.7 million women are employed—about 95.3% employment. We must, however, scrutinize working hours within these statistics.

¶ 03 Unemployment is 4.7%. The Budget allocates Rs. 10,000 million to recruit over 30,000 to the public service. It also addresses part-time and contract work in various institutions.

¶ 04 Sectoral distribution: roughly 25–26% in industry, 26% in agriculture, and about 48% in services. We consider public, private and informal sectors, including self-employment and unregulated activities.

¶ 05 On private sector wages: the largest recent minimum wage increase was delivered by us. The prior minimum basic was Rs. 17,500, with two Budget relief allowances of Rs. 3,500 each added earlier to reach Rs. 21,000. From April this year the basic rises to Rs. 27,000, and from January next year a further Rs. 3,000 takes it to Rs. 30,000. In plantations, a daily minimum of Rs. 1,350 (for 25 days: Rs. 38,750) with kilo-rate options (e.g., Rs. 50 per kilo) is being negotiated with estates, aligning attendance and overtime where applicable. We will legislate by amending the Minimum Wages Act to consolidate allowances and set the basic at Rs. 30,000.

¶ 06 On the public sector, we raised the lowest grade—KKS—from a basic of Rs. 24,250 to Rs. 40,000, plus Rs. 17,800 Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), totaling Rs. 57,800 (up from Rs. 49,550). A Driver goes from Rs. 25,790 basic to Rs. 42,780; with COLA totals about Rs. 60,580. A Development Officer’s basic rises from Rs. 31,490 to Rs. 53,060; gross from Rs. 56,790 to about Rs. 70,860.

¶ 07 Police: A Constable’s basic rises from Rs. 29,540 to Rs. 49,550, gross to about Rs. 108,042. An Inspector’s basic rises from Rs. 37,030 to Rs. 63,070; gross to about Rs. 127,807.

¶ 08 In health, there is misinformation that allowances were reduced. Nurses’ basic rises from Rs. 32,525 to Rs. 54,920; gross from roughly Rs. 104,481 to about Rs. 133,640. Overtime is computed on the basic. Previously, Rs. 32,525/160 ≈ Rs. 203 per hour; now Rs. 54,920/200 ≈ Rs. 275 per hour—a Rs. 72 per hour increase. We also increased salary increments by about 80% (e.g., the Rs. 250 step raised to Rs. 450; the Rs. 2,900 step also increased proportionately). Across 20 months of the three-year phase-in, a nurse’s net monthly increase is about Rs. 29,150, with Rs. 22,233 in the first year added to basic, and further increases each January thereafter.

¶ 09 Doctors: Entry Medical Officer basic rises from Rs. 54,290 to about Rs. 94,150 (gross ~Rs. 277,800). The first-year increase is about Rs. 25,923 into basic. For on-call/OT calculations, the medical profession uses a divisor of 120 hours (not 80) for the revised basic; the hourly rate rises (e.g., Rs. 54,290/80 ≈ Rs. 678 vs. Rs. 91,750/120 ≈ Rs. 764—an increase of about Rs. 86 per hour). For daily rates used for certain leave payments, the prior method (e.g., 20 days) is replaced by a 30-day divisor aligning with monthly pay computations; thus Rs. 91,750/30 ≈ Rs. 3,058 versus the earlier Rs. 2,715—an increase of Rs. 343 per day. No one’s daily or hourly rate is being reduced; they increase.

¶ 10 In total, across three years we allocate about Rs. 325 billion for public sector salary increases, and about Rs. 40 billion for pension enhancements. This is the largest public service pay uplift in our history. Attempts to mislead health workers will not stand when the actual figures are examined; all computations for OT and leave follow the 2027 pay scales used for these calculations. We have not cut anyone’s pay; we have increased basic, hourly, and daily rates. We assure working people—public, private, estates, and pensioners—that their trust will be honoured.

¶ 11 Thank you.