The Kandy South Labour Office has launched a special programme to commence the payment of Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contributions and gratuity payments which have remained unpaid since 2010 to the estate labour community of the Janatha Estates Development Board (JEDB) in the Kandy District.

Due to various reasons, the relevant company had failed to pay these entitlements to estate workers, country-wide. As the government has allocated Rs. 2000 million, from the previous Budget, to expedite these long-overdue payments, investigations have been fast-tracked to begin disbursing benefits to the rightful beneficiaries.

Under the supervision of the Assistant Commissioner of Labour for the Kandy District, Ms. Padma Ratnayake, a team of officers, including Senior Labour Officer of the Kandy South Labour Office, Upul Ariyaratne, has taken steps to visit the Loolkandura Estate, in Galaha, to collect information from the workers. Special investigations are currently underway in several areas of the Kandy District where the majority of JEDB estates are located, with the aim of ensuring these benefits reach the correct claimant, or their dependents, accurately.

The labour community, who dedicated their labour to the country, had been severely distressed due to the non-payment of these benefits for 16 years. Approximately 4,500 workers, who served under the said estate company, and were entitled to these benefits, had made various requests, while others had initiated legal action against the failure to pay these contributions.

By S.K. Samaranayake

Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne yesterday (20) endorsed the certificate on the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill, which was recently passed by Parliament.

The Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Act provides for the establishment of a new regulatory authority to introduce a strong legal framework for regulating and supervising money lending and microfinance businesses in Sri Lanka. The objective of this authority is to regulate and supervise licensed money lenders and licensed microfinance institutions, protect customers engaged with such institutions, and coordinate with the Central Bank and other regulatory bodies. Additionally, the Bill provides for the repeal of the Microfinance Act No. 6 of 2016 and includes provisions related to matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill was first presented to Parliament on 26th November, 2025, and was passed by Parliament on 4th March, 2026.

Accordingly, the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill comes into force from yesterday (20) as the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Act, No. 9 of 2026.

The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (Sri Lanka CERT) recently conducted a Cyber Safety Training Programme for staff members of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen cybersecurity awareness across the public sector.

A release issued yesterday by Sri Lanka CERT said: The training programme was organised following the directive of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who has instructed the Ministry of Digital Economy and Sri Lanka CERT to enhance the digital security capacity of government officers across state institutions.

Participants in this capacity building programme included department heads, senior officials, and the Secretary-General of Parliament, Kushani Rohanadeera.

The sessions were conducted by Nirosh Ananda, Chief Information Security Officer of Sri Lanka CERT; Charuka Damunupola, Lead Information Security Engineer; and Thilina Dissanayake, Manager Capacity Development on Cyber Safety.

The workshop covered several key topics, including crisis management in social media contexts, cybersecurity and online safety, ethical and responsible use of social media, and emerging trends in digital media. These sessions aimed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills required to adopt safer digital practices in their professional roles and to better understand the evolving landscape of cyber threats.

Through the training, participants gained practical insights into protecting sensitive information, maintaining professional standards in online communication, and effectively managing digital risks and challenges in today’s interconnected environment.This initiative forms part of Sri Lanka CERT’s broader efforts to enhance cybersecurity awareness and build cyber resilience across government institutions in Sri Lanka.