2025 Budget: Entrepreneurs voice concern over proposed private sector salary
February 26, 2025 11:31 am
The Sri Lanka United National Businesses Alliance (SLUNBA) has expressed concerns over the government’s proposal to increase private sector salaries, stating that such an increase is not currently feasible.
President of the association Tania Abeysundara emphasized that businesses require time to recover from financial hardships before implementing salary hikes.
“What we expect from you is not some data to put in a budget, but some actionable program. Government employees have been given a salary increase. That is a really good thing. Just think about it when you ask the private sector to do the same. When you increase our salary of Rs. 21,000 to Rs. 27,000, there is a difference of Rs. 6,000 right there.”
“There are OTs for 50-60 hours. Then we pay Rs. 210 per hour. For that alone, we pay about Rs. 10,000. At the same time, when you add up the ETF, ETF, and salary, it increases by about Rs. 15,000. When that increases from the basic salary, it is very difficult for us as entrepreneurs,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Inter-University Trade Union Federation has raised concerns that the recent salary increase for public sector employees has inadvertently resulted in salary reductions for certain workers.
The Chairman of the federation Ranga Meegoda warned that if corrective measures are not taken, they may be compelled to engage in trade union action in response to the situation.
