PM MULLS RS.2,500 PAY HIKE FOR SEMI-GOVT. WORKERS

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday steps would be taken to instruct Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to see the possibility of granting the Rs.2,500 salary hike, which was given to government employees from July this year, to employees of the semi-government sector.

He told Parliament that the procedures adopted to grant increments to the government and semi-government sectors were different and that it was not possible to increase the salary of semi-government employees in line with that of government employees.

He said this in response to a

question raised by JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake that if the government would take steps to grant a salary hike of Rs.2,500 to semi-government employees saying it had been the practice adopted in the past.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament that the salary of semi-government employees had not been increased in line with that of government sector employees in the past as a practice and added that the semi-government sector adopted a separate procedure to grant increments based on many factors including the nature of the job. “Facilities enjoyed by government employees are also granted to those in the semigovernment sector. They even get pay hikes when government employees don’t,” he said.

Meanwhile, Public Administration Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara said a salary increase of Rs.10,000 was given to both government and semi-government employees under this government and that the recent Rs.2,500 was an allowance given to government employees.

“Semi-government employees are usually given bonuses and pay hikes whereas government employees aren’t entitled to such facilities,” he said.

Facilities enjoyed by government employees are also granted to those in the semi-government sector