Public Officers’ Salaries and Pensions Commission begins work
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s newly established Public Officers’ Salaries and Pensions Commission officially commenced operations on Tuesday (4), with the government inviting trade unions, professional bodies and the public to submit proposals over the next two months on reforming the public sector pay and pension system.
The 15-member Commission was inaugurated at its office on Malalasekara Mawatha, Colombo 7, under the patronage of Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Prof. Chandana Abeyratne.
The Commission was established following a proposal by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the 2026 Budget and was formally constituted through Extraordinary Gazette No. 2494/05 dated June 22, 2026. Former Ministry Secretary Ashoka Peiris serves as its chairman, while Nalaka Disanayake is the Commission’s secretary.
The Commission has been tasked with recommending solutions to longstanding salary and pension issues affecting public servants, addressing salary anomalies, improving professionalism in the public service, and proposing structural reforms to modernize the sector in line with emerging technologies and global trends.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Minister Abeyratne said Sri Lanka had not appointed a commission to comprehensively review public sector salaries for more than two decades, adding that this was the first commission specifically mandated to examine pension-related issues affecting retired public officers.
He said successive governments had failed to resolve salary anomalies through a comprehensive and evidence-based approach, often addressing isolated issues that created new disparities elsewhere in the public service.
“The objective is to introduce a scientific and comprehensive framework that addresses the needs of the entire public service rather than providing piecemeal solutions,” he said.
The minister also noted that President Dissanayake had proposed salary increases for all public servants in the first Budget after assuming office, pending the resolution of salary anomalies. The increases are being implemented in three stages from January 1, 2025, with the final phase due to take effect on January 1, 2027.
He said the revised salary scales would also apply in calculating pensions for all public officers who retired on or after January 1, 2025.
Abeyratne said the government had also approved the recruitment of 120,000 new public servants after public sector recruitment had remained suspended since 2020.
Deputy Labour Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe said salary anomalies had remained unresolved despite repeated discussions over many years and expressed confidence that the new Commission would adopt a systematic approach to resolving the issue.
He added that the Commission’s mandate extended beyond salaries and pensions to strengthening professionalism and improving the overall efficiency of the public service.
The government announced that trade unions, professional organizations and members of the public can submit proposals and recommendations to the Commission over the next two months, with details of the submission process to be published in a trilingual public notice later this week.
The inauguration was attended by Deputy Public Administration Minister Ruwan Senarathna, MP Chandana Sooriyarachchi, senior public officials, trade union representatives and other guests.
–ENCL
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