Topic
Employment
1,754 speeches · 310 speakers
Party share
By the speaker's party · counts only, no scoring. "Unattributed" = speeches not resolved to an MP.
Most active on this topic
| # | Member | Speeches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon. Sajith Premadasa, M.P. SJB | 84 |
| 2 | Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, M.P. NDF | 78 |
| 3 | Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha, M.P. JJB | 60 |
| 4 | Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa, M.P. JJB | 45 |
| 5 | Hon. Mahinda Jayasinghe, M.P. JJB | 41 |
| 6 | Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, M.P. JJB | 32 |
| 7 | Hon. Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, M.P. JJB | 31 |
| 8 | Hon. Chathuranga Abeysinghe, M.P. JJB | 30 |
| 9 | Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, M.P. NDF | 29 |
| 10 | Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney at Law, M.P. SJB | 23 |
Speeches
1,754 on this topic- 13 November 2025 The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and Leader of the House JJB AI summary Bimal Rathnayake said the Ministry and RDA acknowledge the need for road widening and will try to include the proposal in the 2027 Budget, though no commitment can be made for funding this year. On traffic lights, he requested that proposals be submitted through the DDC or 19190 with Police concurrence, after which a traffic survey will determine whether signals should be installed next year. He also stated that about 700 RDA workers have been regularized, while around 300 more must sit the G.C.E. (O/L) exam in February before being considered for regularization, with no pass threshold required. Oral Question: Kinniya-Colombo Main Road Widening (1350/2025) Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. Stefni Fernando JJB AI summary Stefni Fernando defended the 2026 Budget as a consultative and collectively designed programme, saying the Finance Minister engaged professional, business, labour and community groups before its preparation and that the previous 2025 budget helped stabilize the economy and generate savings. She argued that reduced waste, equal treatment of investors, land and infrastructure preparation, and support for innovation, SMEs and producers would attract investment and expand employment. She also noted plans to strengthen state institutions through recruitment, extend budget benefits to estate workers, increase railway gatekeepers’ monthly allowance from Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 15,000, and allocate funds for additional public servants. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. Manjula Sugath Rathnayaka JJB AI summary Hon. Manjula Sugath Rathnayaka supported the 2026 Budget, stating that it focuses on macroeconomic stability, fiscal discipline, strengthening State-Owned Enterprises, and public accountability while reducing political perks, waste, and corruption. He highlighted proposals including public sector salary increases and recruitment, support for SMEs, improvements to trade facilitation through the National Single Window, domestic airport expansion, public facility upgrades, and increased Mahapola and bursary payments. He also cited allocations for health infrastructure, women’s empowerment, human-elephant conflict mitigation, regularizing temporary public employees, and housing for artists, media workers, and the upcountry plantation community. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. (Mrs.) Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, Attorney-at-Law JJB AI summary Hon. Nilusha Lakmali Gamage supported the 2026 Budget, arguing that the Government had stabilized the macroeconomy, strengthened public finances and state-owned enterprises, and addressed corruption and accountability after its first Budget. She outlined the Budget’s strategic objectives, including inclusive growth, export diversification, debt sustainability, rural poverty reduction, digitalization, investment facilitation through proposed PPP and Investment Protection laws, and tourism earnings targets. She highlighted allocations for a National Cardiac Unit, plantation worker wage and attendance incentives, women’s entrepreneurship, senior citizens, and migrant worker housing loans and pensions, and urged Ratnapura gem traders to invest their earnings productively. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. Fasmin Sharif JJB AI summary Hon. Fasmin Sharif supported the Budget, highlighting proposed measures for plantation workers, including a Rs. 200 government grant alongside wage increases that he said would raise daily earnings to Rs. 1,750, and allocations for health, tourism development in Nuwara Eliya, Digana and Ambuluwa, and Rs. 400 million for Gampola Hospital. He argued the Budget was inclusive and aimed at economic recovery, debt management, inflation control, education and technology development, while crediting the Government for projects in Gampola. He also commended Anoma Dilrukshi Jayaratne for returning a valuable property to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, rejected allegations that the Government was racist or neglecting Muslim MPs, and defended NPP members against Opposition claims of corruption. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. Aravinda Senarath JJB AI summary Aravinda Senarath said the Government had arranged relief measures including a Rs. 14,000 fertilizer subsidy for inter-season cultivation, farmer compensation payments including arrears, Rs. 15,000 per hectare in additional cultivation assistance, a fuel subsidy for fishers, and expanded access to the President’s Fund at village level. He criticized the Opposition over past handling of compensation and welfare funds, and stated that the public servants’ basic salary would rise from Rs. 24,250 to Rs. 40,000, with 30 percent of the increase paid from January 2026. He argued that the 2025 relief measures and the 2026 Budget would support development and change Sri Lanka’s political and economic trajectory. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. (Mrs.) Samanmali Gunasingha JJB AI summary Hon. (Mrs.) Samanmali Gunasingha defended the 2026 Budget under the Government’s “Prosperous Country – Beautiful Life” policy framework, arguing that claims of no allocations for fisheries or new taxes were inaccurate. She cited allocations for agriculture and fisheries and economic indicators including projected growth, reserves, exports, remittances, tourism earnings, revenue, and the primary balance as evidence of improved economic management. She also highlighted planned public sector recruitment, payment of delayed pensions, improved labour indicators, and defended the proposed Rs. 400 plantation worker wage increase, with contributions from both companies and Government, as support owed to Sri Lankan workers. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. Manjula Suraweera Arachchi JJB AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi highlighted urgent price difficulties faced by potato, onion and upcountry vegetable farmers in Nuwara Eliya, stating that the Agriculture, Industries and Trade Ministers were coordinating measures to stabilize prices from the next season. Supporting the 80th Budget, he said it advances economic democracy and allocates funds for plantation worker wage increases, including a Rs. 200 daily attendance incentive from the Treasury, as well as estate housing. He also cited allocations for rural roads, drinking water expansion in Nuwara Eliya, and the modernization of Hatton, while criticizing Opposition members who oppose the Budget and its support for estate workers. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. (Mrs.) Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney-at-Law JJB AI summary Hon. Nilanthi Kottahachchi supported the Government’s second Budget, describing it as an economic work programme aimed at stabilizing the macroeconomy, improving living standards, and implementing six policy pillars including sustainable growth, export diversification, debt sustainability, rural poverty eradication, productivity, and digitization. She highlighted measures such as the estate workers’ wage increase with public funding, the increase of the Mahapola scholarship to Rs. 10,000, and a Rs. 100 million allocation for street dog welfare as examples of people-focused governance. She also noted forthcoming legal reforms, including the Public-Private Partnership Bill and Investment Protection Bill, as steps to attract investment, and called for cross-party and public cooperation in national development. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. Mano Ganesan SJB AI summary Hon. Mano Ganesan urged the Government to strengthen, not undermine, the Authority for Up-country development, noting its role in coordinating multiple ministries for a historically disadvantaged community that received citizenship and education access late. He questioned a Planters’ Association of Ceylon letter rejecting the Authority and asked the Minister to verify a previous Rs. 5 million Budget allocation under President Ranil Wickremesinghe. He argued that plantation-region development should go beyond wages to include land rights and housing for all residents, including non-workers, and called for implementation of Indian-funded housing and related commitments, referencing the Government’s Hatton Declaration. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. Mano Ganesan SJB AI summary Hon. Mano Ganesan welcomed the Budget proposal to provide estate workers an additional Rs. 400, while stressing that legal questions about the Government’s Rs. 200 contribution should not delay payment. He urged the Government to address broader plantation community issues, including land rights, individual housing rather than flats, and clarification of promised housing numbers under Indian-assisted and other programmes. He called for strengthening, not abolishing, the New Villages Development Authority for the Plantation Region, arguing that it coordinates long-term development needs across ministries. He also said the Tamil Progressive Alliance’s policy is to move estate workers from wage dependence toward land ownership, housing, and stakeholder status through cooperatives. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika JJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika defended the Government’s expenditure management and said the 2025 Budget is on track, with key fiscal indicators expected to improve by end-December. He said the March Budget focused on relief and household economic recovery through measures such as a major public sector salary increase, expanded school meal funding, and higher social protection allowances. He described the current Budget as a development Budget centred on six strategic objectives, including sustainable growth, export diversification, debt sustainability, rural poverty eradication and digitization. He argued that the Government has begun reversing the debt cycle by increasing revenue, reducing expenditure and narrowing the Budget deficit while maintaining relief for the public. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna JJB AI summary K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna defended the Budget as setting the Government’s economic direction toward expanded investment, SME support, digitalization, and a targeted 5 percent growth rate, with a longer-term aim of 7 percent. He said vehicle procurement was intended to improve State sector efficiency rather than provide luxuries, and described reforms such as a BOI single-window system, transparent allocation of underutilized Ministry lands, and listing abandoned bungalows and closed factories for investors. He argued that removing administrative bottlenecks, improving infrastructure, and adopting technologies such as AI would attract investment, create jobs, and support economic expansion. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna JJB AI summary Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna defended the Budget allocation for estate workers, stating that Rs. 5,000 million is sufficient to provide the proposed Rs. 200 benefit because Labour Ministry figures show 87,600 registered RPC estate workers, not 140,000. He argued that the Government inherited major unpaid obligations, including EPF/ETF, gratuity arrears, senior citizens’ interest subsidies, and stalled State projects, and said the Budget allocates funds to address these issues, make multipurpose workers permanent, and complete projects such as the Dambulla cold store and the Badalgama MilkCo plant. He said there are no new taxes and that improved revenue collection and targeted transfers to workers, persons with disabilities, children, and other groups would help resolve social problems and stimulate the economy over the Government’s term. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna - Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure JJB AI summary The Minister defended the Budget proposal to increase estate workers’ daily wage to Rs. 1,750, comprising Rs. 200 from companies and Rs. 200 from the Government, and said the measure would add Rs. 10,000 to monthly income for 25 workdays. He rejected Opposition claims that the Government contribution is illegal, arguing that approval of the Appropriation Bill provides authority and comparing it with existing subsidies and planned support for private-sector employees with disabilities. He also alleged misuse of World Bank-funded ASMP grants under previous administrations, named several recipients, said the Treasury had repaid a demanded amount to avoid consequences for Sri Lanka, and stated that legal action through the Attorney-General is being pursued. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 12 November 2025 The Hon. Anura Karunathilaka - Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation JJB AI summary The Minister outlined the Government’s economic performance in 2025, citing higher public salaries and pensions, restarted infrastructure projects, improved revenue without new taxes, a primary surplus, and gains in employment, remittances, exports, and tourism. He said further growth is needed to address unemployment among qualified youth and remaining hardship among vulnerable groups, and noted forthcoming legal measures in 2026 including PPP legislation, amendments to investment-related Acts, and an Investment Protection Bill. He highlighted Budget allocations for investment zones, SME development, industrial estates, collateral-free lending, and digitalization, including GovPay, GovTech, a Digital Economy Council, and the planned first digital ID by the third quarter of 2026. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate Read →
- 11 November 2025 The Hon. Gamagedara Dissanayake JJB AI summary Gamagedara Dissanayake defended the Budget as fiscally disciplined and goal-oriented, arguing that Opposition criticism reflected political disappointment rather than substantive analysis. He highlighted measures for the estate sector, particularly the Rs. 1,750 daily wage supported by a government contribution of Rs. 200, and called on the SJB to clarify whether it opposes that support. He also rejected claims that there would be no public sector recruitment, stating that around 70,000 merit- and needs-based stable jobs are planned for the following year. Debate: Second Reading of 2026 Budget Bill (Day 3, Afternoon/Evening) Read →
- 11 November 2025 The Hon. Ajantha Gammeddage JJB AI summary Hon. Ajantha Gammeddage defended the Government’s second Budget, contrasting it with the former Wickremesinghe administration, which he accused of excessive taxation, spending on MP compensation, foreign travel, and large upward revisions to borrowing limits. He said the Budget sets six strategic goals, including targeting 7 per cent growth, export diversification, debt sustainability, and monitored development and relief programmes from January 2026. He also highlighted the proposed wage support for estate workers, with contributions from both the Government and estate companies, as a targeted intervention tied to productivity improvements. Debate: Second Reading of 2026 Budget Bill (Day 3, Afternoon/Evening) Read →
- 11 November 2025 The Hon. K. Kader Masthan SLLP AI summary K. Kader Masthan supported the 2026 Budget as a continuation of economic stabilization measures and welcomed its focus on social justice, regional balance, digital governance, and assistance to vulnerable groups, while stressing that implementation must reach war-affected areas in the North and East. He called for vocational training centres in Vavuniya and Mannar, fairer agricultural policies, stronger use of cooperatives, employment pathways for graduates, land and tourism reforms, and proper delivery of Aswesuma benefits. He urged the Government to release seized Tamil translations of the Holy Qur’an, arguing that the import restriction is outdated given digital access to translations and raises fundamental rights concerns. He also requested relocation of proposed Mannar wind power towers outside the island, clarity on funding for the Puttalam–Mannar road via Ilavankulam, and consultation with Puttalam residents before proceeding with the Aruwakkalu waste project. Debate: Second Reading of 2026 Budget Bill (Day 3, Afternoon/Evening) Read →
- 11 November 2025 The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government JJB AI summary The Minister defended the 2026 Budget, arguing that the Government had stabilized the economy through exchange-rate management and improved market performance. He rejected claims that funds were for MPs’ vehicles, stating that allocations were for vehicles and machinery needed by public institutions and local authorities, and outlined public service recruitments to address officer shortages across key services. He also highlighted increased Mahapola and scholarship allowances, provincial allocations for school nutrition, maintenance, operations, and development grants, and said provinces were expected to reach high levels of financial progress by December. Debate: Second Reading of 2026 Budget Bill (Day 3, Afternoon/Evening) Read →