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Public servants’ trade union actions from January 

30 Dec 2021

 
  • Warn of week-long strike followed by a continued strike 
  • Demand minimum Rs. 18,000 salary hike to meet cost of living 
  BY Buddhika Samaraweera  The Sri Lanka Government Officers’ Trade Union Association (SLGOTUA) has decided to launch a series of long-term trade union actions in January 2022 including strikes, in protest over the Government’s failure to increase the salaries of public servants as a solution to the rising cost of living (CoL), The Morning learnt. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (29), SLGOTUA National Organiser B.A.P. Basnayake said that despite numerous letters to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa requesting an increase in the salaries of public servants at least by Rs. 18,000 through the Budget proposal for 2022, the Government has so far failed to respond positively to their request.  “By now the prices of all goods and services have gone up. We therefore called for an increase in the salaries of public servants in line with the rising cost of living. We will wait until the end of this month to see if the Government will give us a positive response. If not, we have already decided to launch a series of long-term trade union actions in January 2022,” he said.  Basnayake further said that the first of the said series of trade union actions would be a week-long strike action which will be supported by the SLGOTUA members belonging to several government institutions. He warned that if the Government would not provide them with a solution to the salary issue even after the week-long strike, a continuous strike action will be launched in January itself. More than 700,000 state sector employees attached to the SLGOTUA were engaged in a one-day strike early this month, claiming that the Government had not responded to their request to increase the salaries of public servants as a remedy to the rising cost of living. A protest was also held on the same day near the Parliament roundabout with the participation of public servants representing a number of sectors.  The SLGOTUA, on 14 November, warned that it would initiate a trade union action without giving notice, if the Government did not increase the salaries of public servants through the 2022 Budget. Pointing out further that the prices of essential items have increased several times during the past few months, the SLGOTUA had urged the Government to increase the salaries of public servants by at least Rs. 18,000.  However, claiming that there is no possibility of raising the salaries of public servants under the present circumstances, Ministry of Finance and Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle recently called on the public servants who are demanding a salary increase to suggest how to obtain the necessary monies to make such a hike. When contacted by The Morning to inquire as to whether the Ministry of Finance would consider the SLGOTUA’s demand, on 17 November, Attygalle said: “It is not possible to do so because there is no provision in the Budget for such a salary increase at the moment. However, Basil Rajapaksa has asked the National Pay Commission to fast-track the designing of a new salary structure, considering the salary anomalies, etc. That is the only proposal as of now.”  Speaking further, Attygalle added that a sum of Rs. 324 billion a year would be needed to increase the salaries of all public servants by at least Rs. 18,000, as the SLGOTUA has demanded.  “There are 1.5 million public servants. It would cost Rs. 324 billion a year to increase their salaries by Rs. 18,000. At present, the Government spends only Rs. 1,000 billion to pay the total salaries.” He also said that the only way to increase the salaries as demanded by public servants would be to increase the taxes across the board. “Tell them to propose how to get the necessary money for it too,” he said.


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