World News | Suspension of Sri Lankan Central Bank's Disputed Pay Hike Recommended

Colombo, Mar 20 (PTI) A Sri Lankan parliamentary committee on Wednesday recommended the island nation's central bank put on hold the implementation of a controversial steep pay hike and asked for its review by an independent remuneration committee.

The Commission on Public Finance (COPF) made the recommendation after examining the Central Bank of Sri Lanka's action to effect a steep salary hike outside Parliament's control of public finances.

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A public outcry raged last month over the proposed pay hike, which saw salary hikes ranging from 29 to 76 per cent across all grades to the Central Bank staff.

The Commission on Public Finance (COPF) chairman, Harsha de Silva, told Parliament on Wednesday that the parliamentary committee has recommended the Central Bank to postpone the salary hike.

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“(The) COPF recommends that the minister of finance immediately appoint an independent remuneration committee with the concurrence of the governor central bank to review the salary increase," de Silva said.

“Despite the operational independence given to the central bank, all finances are subject to government control,” he said.

Earlier in March, Parliament summoned the central bank governor and the senior hierarchy to probe the hike.

Parliamentarians had argued that although the central bank was allowed to operate independently, there was no provision to hike salaries as it wished.

The bank trade unions defended the steep hike, saying that the Central Bank staff are barred from private practice and that promotional opportunities are limited due to it being a closed service.

They said the hike was needed to stop the brain drain, as around 100 experienced officers had left the central bank to join multilateral agencies since the country began suffering from the economic crisis.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)