Hon. Thurairasa Rachitharan

¶ 01 I raise this on behalf of the welfare of pensioners.

¶ 02 The payment due on 2020.01.01 to those who retired during 2016-2019 was temporarily suspended by the Cabinet of Gotabaya Rajapaksa due to the situation in the country. On this, pensioners aligned with the National People’s Power filed cases and carried out struggles, but the cases were dismissed. At that time, trade unions supporting the NPP assured that if they formed a government, they would resolve this issue. Affected pensioners expected a solution in the first Budget of the NPP Government.

¶ 03 Those who were supposed to receive the 2020 payment waited five years up to 2025 without receiving it. Now, through this Budget, payment has been extended further in three installments up to 2027. Nearly 2,000 pensioners who were to receive these payments have died across the country. Without considering pensioners’ life expectancy, the present Government has pushed the payment a further three years, causing them deep concern. I appeal to the Hon. Minister with compassion to help ensure these public servants who worked diligently can enjoy a peaceful retirement and receive their due payments promptly. Thank you.