The Government promised urgent action to resolve pension irregularities and follow through on the recommendations of the Salary Commission report presented to the Treasury in September 2017.

Lawmakers highlighted the traffic congestion at Polduwa Junction, which blocked the entrance of Parliament, caused last afternoon by a protest staged by pensioners who were seeking a suitable increase in their pensions in line with the current standard of living. 

Public Administration and Management and Law and Order Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara said: “According to Government policy, action will be taken to decide the pensions and respective payments. 

The Salary Commission will act accordingly to solve the issues of pensioners. In 2006 the pensioners took to the street. The pensioners continued with their struggle till 2015. The current Government solved the pension anomaly soon after it came to power. Today, the Government is looking into this issue and the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance are exploring avenues to make allocations.”

According to the Minister, new recruits to the state service will continue to enjoy pensions. 

“Those who are recruited to the state service will continue to enjoy a pension. But discussions are under way to decide the fate of those who will be recruited to the state service in the future,” the Minister added.

However, UPFA Joint Opposition parliamentary group leader Dinesh Gunawardena accused the Government of dragging its feet with the issues of pensioners. 

“A number of pensioners, reaching 600,000, are facing great difficulty. They are affected by the current economic crisis. These pensioners should be paid according to the salaries received by existing employees,” said Gunawardena. (AH)