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40,000 pensioners fall through crack in pay award
Trade unions said the government’s “discriminatory” halting of pension increments for state employees who retired between 2015-19 has denied 40,000 pensioners their right to income increases from January 2020.
In June 2015, the last government moved to grant pay increases for state employees and pensioners and allocated Rs. 12 billion for this in its 2019 Budget. Some 500,000 public servants who had retired before December 31, 2015 benefited, receiving between Rs. 2,800 to a maximum of Rs. 20,000 in increases.
The then government issued two different circulars in five phases that covered state employees who retired before December 31, 2015 and afterwards.
Those who retired before that date came under Circular No. 05/2015 and were to start receiving the revised salaries from July 1, 2019.
Those retiring after January 1, 2016 came under Circular No. 03/2016 and were to receive salary increases from January 2020 to the tune of 107 per cent of their 2016 salaries.
Joint Postal Union Convenor President Chintaka Bandara said it was ironic that those retiring after 2020 are enjoying the pension increase set out in Circular 03/2016 while those who retired in the 2015-19 period “have not received any increments in the four years from 2016 to 2019”. He said this was discriminatory.
A former head of the pensions department is among 95 pensioners who have filed a writ application in the Court of Appeal challenging the government’s decision to suspend pay increments for state employees who retired between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019.
The petition names 20 persons including the prime minister and cabinet ministers as respondents.