The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe - Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development

¶ 01 Madam Deputy Chair, I was speaking about wage increases presented in this Budget. The Opposition is making points without study, though the Budget Speech and annexures set out the statistics.

¶ 02 Now, public sector wages. Our policy is to maintain a 1:4 wage progression across grades. We have kept that policy while addressing long-standing anomalies across cadres—from Office Assistants to Ministry Secretaries—and long-pending issues raised in union forums, including those of pensioners. Some expected a wage rise while keeping all existing distortions intact. Our responsibility is to resolve issues faced by working people.

¶ 03 We are allocating Rs. 325 billion over three years for this wage reform: Rs. 102 billion in 2025, Rs. 128 billion in 2026, and Rs. 95 billion in 2027. For a country lifted out of bankruptcy, this first Budget still allocates that much for salaries. Those who added Rs. 20 in 2016 by rolling allowances into basic now claim we are not increasing wages. Then, the basic was declared Rs. 24,250 by adding the Rs. 12,500 allowance onto Rs. 11,730 and calling it an increase. Since then there was no real wage increase. Now, over the next three years, the public sector minimum basic rises by Rs. 8,250, addressing allowance-related anomalies.

¶ 04 From an entry-level public servant receiving an increase of Rs. 15,750 to a Ministry Secretary seeing an increase of around Rs. 69,300 at entry to that grade, these are the ranges. These increases are phased over three years because the State cannot bear it all at once. The minimum basic is brought to Rs. 40,000 and all salaries move up from there; and when calculating other benefits in future, the April 2025 increase is taken into account.

¶ 05 It was said doctors are preparing to strike and that medical officers” overtime is cut. Previously the hourly overtime rate was basic divided by 80. With a basic of Rs. 54,290, that was Rs. 678 per hour. Now, with the basic moving to Rs. 91,750 at that step, and using division by 120, the hourly rate is Rs. 764—higher, not lower. Likewise, for work on holidays, previously basic (Rs. 54,290) divided by 20 gave Rs. 2,715 per day; now basic (Rs. 91,750) divided by 30 gives Rs. 3,058—again higher. Different services have different formulae (120, 140, etc. in nursing as well), and all have risen. No one’s earnings are harmed.

¶ 06 Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna raised that postgraduate trainees work 24 hours straight and asked to allow 140–200 hours instead of 120. I invite him to present that proposal when the Health Ministry Head is debated; Hon. Nalin Jayatissa is here. If feasible, we can consider trainees as well.

¶ 07 On university academics: some claim cuts. Not so. The minimum academic basic was Rs. 54,600, with a 20 per cent Backlog Clearing Allowance due to the earlier double batch issue. That batch has now passed through, but we have not removed benefits. Now the minimum basic is Rs. 91,365, with a 0.82 factor and an additional Rs. 12,000 added; over 75 per cent of the earlier backlog allowance is folded into salary. Consultants’ gross too moves from around Rs. 232,000 to Rs. 277,000—an increase of about Rs. 94,000. Across the public service, increases range from Rs. 15,750 up to about Rs. 98,355. No one joining the State service faces a pay cut.

¶ 08 We say with responsibility: this Government of the National People’s Power is a government formed together with the strength and courage of working people—public, private, plantation, farmers and fishers—looking at the whole country. The President said so yesterday. Some say we favoured North, West or here. No—we have considered the entire country, and delivered the largest wage increases in history from the lowest Office Assistant up to the Ministry Secretary, while resolving pensioner issues long neglected. I conclude.

¶ 09 Thank you.