The government has decided to extend the grace period for the payment of salaries to the private-sector employees until December, in the wake of the recent outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

A task force representing employees, trade unions, the National Labour Advisory Council, the Ministry of Labour and the Department of Labour was appointed to look into the payment of salaries to the private-sector employees during the pandemic.

The task force had previously agreed to continue the following measures from May to September 2020:

- Averting from losing jobs of employees in the companies that have been shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

- Employing the staff members in institutions to work in proportionately under a shift system or another suitable procedure which is unable to employ all the workers in the institutions due to the need for maintaining social distance.

- Paying a more advantageous sum of money, either 50 percent of the basic salary or Rs 14,500 of the basic salary for the month in which they had paid the last salary to the employees of the institutions who were required to stay at home due to unemployment.

- Paying of contributions by the employer to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Trust Fund (EPF) for such salaries.

However, as the Covid-19 cases continue to re-emerge across the country, the Cabinet of Ministers gave its approval for the submissions tabled by the Minister of Labour to continue the aforementioned measures until this December.