Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Prime Minister. Hon. Speaker, I request two minutes.

¶ 02 Hon. Prime Minister, as you know, issues originating since the B.C. Perera Salary Commission (1997) persist, especially in education. In 2022, one-third of the disparity was granted to some, while others retired without receiving it, creating issues among pensioners. While your Government need not answer for disparities prior to 2020, your intervention thereafter is appreciated. However, the present Government has exacerbated disparity: two persons who rendered equal service now receive unequal pensions if one retired on 31.12.2024 and the other on 01.01.2025. The difference ranges from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 80,000 across categories—70% to 120% in some cases. I table documents with details.

¶ 03 For example, in the untrained Primary Service category, the post‑01.01.2025 maximum pension is Rs. 55,692, while pre‑01.01.2025 it is Rs. 32,769—a difference of Rs. 22,923. For Secretaries’ grades, post‑2025 pension is Rs. 202,810; pre‑2025 it is Rs. 113,688—a difference of Rs. 89,123. Similar gaps exist among teachers, doctors, military, police and labour services. Those in 2020–2024 received no increases, except the Rs. 5,000 allowance during President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s period (Rs. 3,000 for pensioners). Therefore, there is a clear inconsistency.

¶ 04 I now ask my question.

¶ 05 Hon. Prime Minister, at no time in history have pensions been structured prospectively to such effect. I suspect IMF-related understandings to rationalize the public service may have driven this, perhaps to incentivize retirements. I table supporting documents.

¶ 06 Placed in the Library.