Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Vijitha Herath claimed that the Government extended the retirement age to 60 years so that it can act as a leverage, given the crashing Sri Lankan economy. He made this statement while speaking in Parliament today (11). "Any developed country would bring down the retirement age so that people can enjoy their retirement. By extending the retirement age, it is clearly evident that the Government made this move so that the EPF and ETF can be held in the Government treasury for longer which will support the already crashing economy," said Herath. He went on to say that by extending the retirement age, a Sri Lankan male and female can now only receive their retirement fund at the age of 60, compared to the previous age of 55 years for males and 50 years for females. "The Government can now hold on to the EPF and ETF funds for an additional 5 years. This is another small gimmick to sustain the economy of Sri Lanka. Whilst people might choose to believe that the Government is doing this for their benefit, it is actually for other ulterior motives," stated Herath. Herath further stated that people think that working for an additional 5 years would help them accumulate more money for themselves, but with the rising cost of living and the current economy in the country, this would be a disadvantage. "This is an ulterior motive by the Ministry of Finance so that billions of rupees can be held in the treasury for longer. This is clearly evident that the government is headed towards bankruptcy and doing this as a form of survival" he added. Further, Herath stated that the allowance allocated for daily wage estate workers was decided upon to be Rs. 1000, whereas private companies and estate owners were against this and now there are ample court cases which are going on. "Even Government entities are not abiding by the decision and are not paying the workers Rs. 1000 per day. This was also a scheme by the Government, where they did not implement a rule but just agreed upon it in Parliament. Now, people are filing cases asking for their daily allowance of Rs. 1000, when there is no proper law. Until a law is implemented, these court cases will keep dragging on," Herath stated. He further requested the Government to include the minimum wage as a law, and include it into the 2022 Budget, so that salary anomalies will not happen for estate workers and they will not be inconvenienced. In conclusion, Herath stated that there are over 45,000 people who are still awaiting their EPF funds well after retirement, and that the Government needs to look into this as a matter of urgency as people have worked hard for many years and the EPF fund was accumulated as a form of "insurance" for their retirement.