The Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam
Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam emphasized the need for community consultation in developing fast train services. He welcomed the Budget proposal doubling temporary railway gatekeepers’ pay from Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 15,000, but noted their longstanding difficulties under the Police Department and asked whether the remaining gatekeepers and other temporary or volunteer railway workers could be brought under the Railways Ministry and regularized.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Minister. I also wish to highlight that while we need fast trains, communities must be consulted. Additionally, across Sri Lanka, 2,064 temporary gatekeepers who served for Rs. 7,500 per month have had their pay doubled to Rs. 15,000 in this Budget. That is commendable. Many have since passed away; about 1,500 remain. They have repeatedly reported difficulties when under the Police Department; even the Hon. Prime Minister has been petitioned. My second supplementary: Can they be brought under your Ministry/Railways, and can those who served on temporary or volunteer bases be regularized under this Budget, including these gatekeepers?
Provenance
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- Hansard, Monday, 10 November 2025 ·No. 22753 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 10 November 2025. No. 22753. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/20443