President Mahinda Rajapaksa has told trade union leaders that there was no promise of a salary hike of Rs. 2,500 for the public sector in the Mahinda Chintana policy and advised them not to expect the government to fulfil such a promise, a trade union leader said.
Several trade union leaders who attended the meeting with the President on Wednesday expressed their displeasure over the comments made by him. But the President told trade union leaders the country needed responsible trade unions and no force would be allowed to betray Sri Lanka to achieve narrow personal ends.
Every problem could be solved through negotiations, he said.
Official sources estimate Rs 36 billion will have to be allocated annually for the proposed salary increase for 1.2 million public-servants.
A special committee including union representatives has been appointed to study and submit a report on public-sector salary anomalies. It is expected to submit its recommendations which will be considered in drafting the 2011 Budget, according to official sources.
A trade union leader quoted Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundara as saying at the meeting that several unions had demanded correction of prevailing anomalies among services though many of such services were without proper Service Minutes.
He said the government expected the relevant line ministries and Salaries and Cadres Commission to finalize all such Service Minutes early, paving the way to implement a new salaries structure thereafter.
As in the past, all unions would be invited for consultations in finalizing the new salaries structure that would be the basis for the salary increase to be given in the 2011 Budget, he said. |
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