Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law
Hon. Lakmali Hemachandra argued that the Budget departs from neoliberal policy by intervening to raise private sector wages, including for plantation and other private industry workers. She said that despite financial and legal constraints, the Government has taken a compassionate, people-focused approach, and rejected claims that the Budget is neoliberal.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, please grant me one more minute.
¶ 02 Another key point: for the first time, the Government is intervening to raise private sector wages. Traditionally, governments kept away from private wage-setting—neoliberal governments especially so. We have changed that attitude, taking responsibility for private sector workers—intervening decisively to raise wages, including in plantations and other private industries.
¶ 03 Above all, this is a compassionate Budget, Madam. We are financially constrained and legally constrained, yet the Government acts compassionately toward the people because this is a people’s Government. The claim that this Budget is neoliberal is profoundly unfair—whether from the left or the right. The policies here are the opposite of neoliberalism. Thank you.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 20 February 2025 ·No. 1740657427093848 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 February 2025. No. 1740657427093848. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/16433