The Hon. Dinindu Saman

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, today we debate the Heads of Expenditure of the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, and the Ministry of Labour. I especially wish to speak on the Head of the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government. As a former public servant, I am pleased to have this opportunity. We should be happy, as public servants, to represent the Government in a forum debating an expenditure head that contains a forward plan to keep public servants satisfied.

¶ 02 We know that more than 80 percent of public servants voted to bring this Government into office. We have a very good vision regarding public servants in this country. For many years, successive governments deceived them. We know where politicians placed the public servant. When a government gave some allowance or added some amount to salary, how much the public servant struggled to actually receive it — protesting on the roads, going from village to village, and suffering. Ultimately, those allowances were won by the public servants through struggle.

¶ 03 But for the first time in history, without demands from public servants, this Government, of its own will, has granted a salary increase. That is the specialty of this Government. There was no trade union intervention, no union struggles, and public servants did not take to the streets. This was done in an economy that had been bankrupt. When we took office, there were many urgent economic priorities and areas to invest in. Yet special attention was paid to increasing public servants’ salaries, without deceiving them again.

¶ 04 However, some parties are pained by this — the Opposition, for one. They are discomforted because they lose their usual battle-cry. They used to agitate public servants and mobilize them against the Government. Now, that has withered.

¶ 05 Some regressive trade unions are also pained and are misinterpreting the salary increase to drag public servants out again. A certain trade union defined the increase as only Rs. 975 more in April compared to March. Why compare March and April? Because of Circular 03/2024: under the 2024 Budget proposal, the cost-of-living allowance was increased by Rs. 10,000, but the then Government of Ranil Wickremesinghe paid only Rs. 5,000 in January, February, and March, keeping the remaining Rs. 5,000 in three tranches for 2025. The Opposition cheered those “games” while the burden fell on public servants. We say: read the Circular. In March, you got the Rs. 5,000 — from our Government. After March, that Rs. 5,000 would end.

¶ 06 If there were no salary enhancement in April, your April salary would drop by Rs. 5,000. Trade unions do not show that. We did not merely attach another allowance. We gave a real salary increase. It would have been easy to slap a Rs. 15,000 allowance and claim victory. But we did not, because our conscience matters.

¶ 07 We know the issue: when the basic salary is low, one cannot obtain loans, and allowances are reduced. The answer is to increase the basic salary. We took that decision even though it is riskier and unpopular amid a weak fiscal position, because we sincerely wished to act rightly for public servants.

¶ 08 We must transform the public service. To take it to a new mindset and standard, a satisfactory salary structure was needed. The NPP Government has given it without a fight — a historic achievement for public servants.

¶ 09 We have also increased annual increments by 80 percent. So, year after year, increments will be higher, boosting other allowances, overtime, and loan limits. The disaster loan of Rs. 250,000 was increased to Rs. 400,000 because we genuinely care. We ask the Opposition not to misuse our sincerity. They can play games only until April’s payday. We ask all intelligent public servants to work with understanding regarding the increment and join our broader vision for the public service.

¶ 10 We want to build an efficient public service. Under “A Prosperous Country — A Better Life,” we expect the contribution of the 1.4 million public servants to develop this country. We believe they will provide it. Thank you.