Expert Committee Chairman hopes recommendations will be implemented whoever wins presidential election

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Chairman of the Presidential Expert Committee, Udaya R. Seneviratne, says he hopes that the recommendations regarding public sector salary increase will be implemented regardless of the outcome of the presidential election to be held next week,.

One-time Presidential Secretary Seneviratne emphasised that the final report that included a set of recommendations regarding ways and means to raise state revenue required to meet the new salaries structure had been handed over to President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently.

Seneviratne said so in response to The Island query whether the national economy could bear the additional heavy burden in the wake of Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana’s recent declaration that the government couldn’t meet the Rs 10,000 public sector salary increase unless VAT (Value Added Tax) was raised from 18% to 20%. Siriwardana is on record as having said that Rs. 140 bn was required annually to increase public sector salaries by Rs. 10,000.

Seneviratne said that his Committee examined all aspects while having consultations with 93 trade unions and representatives of various other organisations and interested parties.

President Wickremesinghe appointed a 10-member committee consisting of members of the public and private sector on June 12 this year. Responding to another query, Seneviratne said that the Treasury was represented by four officials.

Seneviratne said the basic salary increase ranges from 24% to 50%-60% starting from a basic salary of Rs 30,000 with the salary structure revised according to a ratio of 1 to 6.

Having received appointment as Secretary to the President on July 06, 2018 during Maithripala Sirisena’s tenure as the President, Seneviratne retired soon after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as the President. Dr. P.B. Jayasundera succeeded Seneviratne.

Asked whether his report covered pensioners, Seneviratne said that issue should be dealt with separately. There are about 750,000 pensioners.

According to Seneviratne, the report dealt with 1.2 to 1.3 mn public sector workers, including the armed forces. “We are talking about approximately two million families depending on the Treasury. Raising the required funds is a daunting task,” Seneviratne conceded.

Seneviratne stressed the responsibility on the part of the government to implement what he called revenue proposals to raise funds needed. The Chairman of the Expert Committee said that the promised salary increment couldn’t be granted unless the revenue proposals were implemented.

Seneviratne said his Committee proposed a new salary structure in line with the agreement with the IMF that the public sector salary Bill should be 3.7% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and capital expenditure 4% of the GDP.

Assuring that the Committee report was not meant to give political advantage to President Wickremesinghe, Seneviratne pointed out that the Parliament adopted the much discussed and debated Economic Transformation Bill (ETB) in July without a vote. Therefore, none of the political parties backing presidential contestants opposed the ETB, Seneviratne said, urging all interested parties to be prepared to proceed with the recommendations. Seneviratne noted that parliamentary polls would follow the presidential election.

“My humble advice is that no one should play politics with this issue. The failure to address grievances of those struggling to make ends meet can be catastrophic in the near future,” Seneviratne said, post-pandemic situation, declaration of bankruptcy and imposition of new tax regime consequent to the agreement with the IMF increased pressure on the people.

Seneviratne said that it would be pertinent to mention that President Wickremesinghe appointed his Committee in the wake of University teachers and others resorting to trade union action to pressure the government to grant them an immediate salary increase. Pointing out that the public sector salary structure was not sufficient at all, even to meet the basic requirement of families, Seneviratne emphasized the urgent need for a consensus on the proposed salary structure or face the consequences.