News

Power sector reforms jolted by 40% pay hike demand

Published

7 months ago

2026/03/12

Nusith Kumaratunga

The government’s sweeping electricity sector restructuring programme ran into fresh turbulence yesterday, with authorities warning that meeting a 40 percent salary increase, demanded by striking power sector unions, could push electricity tariffs up by nearly 100 percent.

Chairman of the National Transmission Network Service Provider (NTNSP), Nusith Kumaratunga, issuing the warning at a media briefing, said the additional salary burden would significantly escalate operating costs in the newly formed power sector companies.

According to Kumaratunga, granting the 40 percent salary increase would raise the monthly wage bill by about Rs. 1.8 billion, amounting to nearly Rs. 22 billion annually, placing enormous pressure on the already fragile financial position of the electricity sector.

“If that additional burden is passed on to consumers, electricity tariffs may have to increase by close to 100 percent,” he said.

The briefing was organised by the management of the successor companies created following the restructuring of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

Kumaratunga said electricity sector trade unions had presented 64 demands in the wake of the restructuring exercise.

“Out of the 64 demands, 62 have already been agreed to,

while the remaining two have been referred to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for discussion,” he said.

He explained that the majority of the demands related to the continuation of privileges previously enjoyed by employees under the CEB structure.

“During the initial round of discussions itself, the boards of directors agreed to 59 of those demands,” he noted.

Among the concessions already granted was the continuation of bonus payments, similar to those previously paid by the CEB, at least temporarily, until a performance-based incentive system is introduced.

The management had also agreed to grant an allowance of Rs. 11,000, in addition to the existing cost-of-living allowance, bringing the average additional monthly benefit to around Rs. 17,000 per employee, he said.

Kumaratunga stressed that management had approved all demands that could be granted at the ministerial level.

However, he said the proposed 40 percent salary increase would be difficult to justify, particularly at a time when other segments of the public service were not receiving similar benefits.

He also revealed that unions had requested that a 25 percent salary adjustment, granted to senior executives in 2024, be extended to all employees, with retrospective effect from January 1, 2024.

Granting such a request would require amending an existing Cabinet decision, which the boards of directors of the newly established companies do not have the authority to do, Kumaratunga explained.

He pointed out that the newly created electricity sector companies had only commenced operations on Monday, and their work had already been disrupted by the ongoing trade union action.

“It is difficult to understand why the strike continues when the vast majority of demands have already been addressed,” he said.

However, the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union clarified that the 40 percent salary increase was not their primary demand.

Union representatives said that the electricity sector employees were originally due for a salary revision in January 2027, but the ongoing restructuring had raised concerns that the scheduled increase might not materialise.

“That is why we requested at least a reasonable percentage increase in order to secure some form of salary revision,” a senior electrical engineer said.

The dispute comes at a critical moment as the government presses ahead with the unbundling of the CEB into separate generation, transmission and distribution entities, a reform programme, officials say, is aimed at improving efficiency and attracting investment to Sri Lanka’s troubled power sector.

However, the restructuring has been strongly opposed by trade unions, which argue that the reforms could undermine employee security and weaken state control over a strategic national utility.

With industrial action continuing and tariff hikes looming as a possibility, the confrontation between the government and electricity sector unions appears set to intensify in the coming days.

By Ifham Nizam

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Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

7 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

News

Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

Published

7 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

News

Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

Published

7 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.