The United National Party (UNP) today called on the government to provide the masses with a salary hike of at least Rs 15,000 in the upcoming budget and warned of an uprising similar to that which recently took place in several Middle Eastern nations if it failed to do so.  

UNP MP John Amaratunga stated that there is an issue pertaining to the none payment of salaries to employees of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and that strikes are held almost every day by workers at bus depots across the country because they have not been paid for several months.

He stated that MP Namal Rajapaksa had recently intervened in such a situation and provided SLTB bus depot workers with their wages.  

“Is Namal Rajapaksa going to visit all bus depots every day to resolve their salary issues? This is a joke,” he expressed.

He inquired as to why the government is unable to pay salaries on time when the public is paying bus fares properly.

He also claimed that the SLTB is deducting an amount from the salaries of its workers for the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) but it is not being deposited in the Central Bank account. “This is a great robbery.”

Amaratunga stated that SLTB employees will not be able to receive their EPF money when they retire due to this.

He stated that the UNP, on behalf of all the working class people in the country, requests the government to provide the public with a minimum Rs 15,000 wage hike in the upcoming budget proposal.

He warned that a public uprising similar to that in the Middle East will take place in Sri Lanka, if the government fails to provide this salary increase.