The increment of Salaries of the workers of the Central Bank

This is regarding the discussion held at the COPF and the Party Leaders meeting at Parliament about the increment of Salaries of the workers of the Central Bank in 70% by themselves.

1.????? As the chairman of The Committee on Public Finance, your task is to do justice to all whom you have summoned and to your committee as well as to solve the issue with a reasonable solution.

2.????? According to the No 148 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Parliament shall have full control over public finance. However through different regulations this power is granted to the Central Bank and granting power to the Central bank does not mean the Finance Control Power given to Parliament is being cancelled or over ruled. At this point the interpretation of the attorney General is of utmost importance it is curious as to why his Interpretation is not duly accepted.

3.????? ?The power of salary increments of the staff of the CB has been given to the central bank by the Central Bank Act thus it should be in accordance with the common agreement with the Labour Commission. According to the Governor of CB there has not been any agreement with Labour Commission regarding this and thus this increment is not legitimate.

4.????? ?The Governor can not possibly justify this matter saying that there had not been such kind of agreements in the previous increments as well. If there is any matters in the administration system they should take actions to remedy them before long. All the government institutes must follow the same constitutional law and must adhere by them.

5.????? According to the statement made by the Governor of CB, the? salary of the minor staff is Rs. 200,000 and rejection of this salary would ended up that they been migrated I have no intention whatsoever to degrade any profession but the truth is that there is no shortage in the country for minor staff jobs such as OA, Drivers, Cleaners etc. Even if there is such a shortage it is enough to notify it in weekend news papers and the problem will be solved. I must thank you for reminding that the salary of a driver at Suwa Sariya is Rs. 54,000 only.

6.????? When the Central Bank staff migrate due to PAYE taxes and inflation the same reason has troubled many of the government and private professionals and thus you must consider them also and do justice to them. The CB must make amendments in order to reduce the Inflation and PAYE taxes on both private and government sectors.

?

7.????? Its not ethical at all in a situation like this, where the normal civilians suffer due to the inflation Heavy Taxes, increasing the interest rates, the Governor has taken an unethical step to increase the salaries of the Bank where he himself is an employee. We vehemently condemn this act of the Governor of CB and we request for a complete serious investigation on his actions. He must be summoned to the Court.

?

8.????? The increments given by the CB must be cancelled with immediate effects. The Common agreements of the LC must be investigated and the Parliament should be notified if such agreement had not been made. Other common agreements must be studied and a report should be presented.

?

It is important that you are aware that the civil community is we are very much keen ?about the State Finance Matters.

?

Charted Accountant Dr. Sajith Alwis