Trade unions want more in national minimum wage

Trade unions, while acknowledging the increase in the recently approved National Minimum Wage by Rs.2,500 to Rs. 12,500 per month, say it’s not enough and needs periodic adjustments.

Palitha Athukorala, Secretary of IndustriALL Sri Lanka Council, said that they have been campaigning for a long time for an increase in the National Minimum Wage with every government. “With the budgetary relief allowance (Rs.3,500), it would come to a monthly minimum wage of Rs. 16,000. This is not enough and there should be a periodic review and adjustments made,” he said.

Officials of the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC), which represents employers on the tripartite National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC), were not immediately available for comment.

“Now every sector is being given increases – public sector, pensioners and soldiers but there is no increase for the private sector workers,” he said, adding that unions propose to talk to the three main presidential candidates (UNP, SLPP and JVP) and seek an assurance and promise that if elected they would implement a wage hike for the private sector.

Anton Marcus, convener and General Secretary of the Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees’ Union (FTZ&GSEU, said their demand to the NLAC in April this year was for a minimum monthly wage of of Rs.25,000 and based on this the government has agreed to an increase of Rs. 2,500 to Rs.12,500 from Rs. 10,000 earlier.

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