In the wake of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) launching an investigation into overtime (OT) payments in the Posts Department following allegations of irregular claims, Postmaster General Ruwan Sathkumara said that fingerprint machines have now been installed in all post offices to regulate attendance and OT payments.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (30), he said that the system has been implemented across the network, with the exception of sub post offices. “We have installed fingerprint machines in all main post offices, except for sub post offices,” he said, adding that while there had been some initial issues with entering data into the system, the machines are now operational.

The move comes against the backdrop of an ongoing investigation by the CIABOC into claims that a group of Postal employees had wrongfully obtained more than Rs. 10 million in OT payments. The CIABOC decided to proceed with an investigation after reviewing a complaint lodged last year (in 2025) by a civil society organisation.

The allegations first came to light after Sathkumara himself revealed in late 2025 that several audit inquiries had found that OT payments exceeding Rs. 10 million had been claimed without proper fingerprint verification. He alleged at the time that some employees inflated working hours and included unnecessary staff when claiming OT payments for tasks such as vehicle servicing.

Following these findings, the Government sought to introduce fingerprint machines to record attendance. The move however, was met with resistance from Postal employees, who staged protests and launched strike action.