The Hon. Sunil Rajapaksha

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chair, we are glad to raise our voice for those who sweat and toil to earn rupees and bring dollars to this country.

¶ 02 We discuss the national minimum wage today, rooted in a long international history. The ILO introduced a convention in 1928 to set mechanisms for minimum wages; Sri Lanka ratified it on 9 June 1971. We only legislated a national minimum wage in 2016: Act No. 3 of 2016 set Rs. 10,000 monthly and Rs. 400 daily; Act No. 16 of 2021 raised them to Rs. 12,500 and Rs. 500; Act No. 48 of 2024 raised them to Rs. 17,500 and Rs. 700.

¶ 03 The IMF defines a minimum wage as the lowest remuneration payable for specified work time, output or services, set at a level adequate—considering a country’s economic and social context—to meet the basic needs of a worker’s family, and to be legally guaranteed. In 2025, amid crisis, we granted 60–80 percent public sector increases and now consider a meaningful private sector increase.

¶ 04 Accordingly, from 01.04.2025 the monthly minimum rises from Rs. 17,500 to Rs. 27,000, and from 01.01.2026 to Rs. 30,000. The daily minimum moves to Rs. 1,080 from April 2025 and to Rs. 1,200 from January 2026. This also uplifts EPF/ETF bases and affects overtime, holiday pay, and allowances.

¶ 05 While Rs. 30,000 is not fully satisfactory, given constraints we cannot go further immediately. Within three to four years, with growth in production, agriculture and services, we aim to grant wages that allow families to live decently, educate children, obtain healthcare, and build homes. We have begun that journey and will continue in future Budgets.