Youth employment key target in Budget 2011: Amunugama

Creating employment opportunities for youth will be the key policy target in the Government’s 2011 Budget to be unveiled next week.

“We will target to create employment for youth in the budget,” Dr Sarath Amunugama, Deputy Minister of Finance told reporters here Thursday.

“No economic growth will be valuable if it did not generate employment opportunities”, Amunugama stressed.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is also the Finance Minister is to unveil the Budget on 22 November.

In its post conflict era the Government expects six per cent plus economic growth and single digit inflation in the current year.

The opposition trade unions however want the Government to announce a public sector wage hike.

They demand a Rs. 9,000 per month wage hike.

But the Government says a public sector wage hike in the budget would squeeze its ability to fund the infrastructure development projects.

“Workers must get ready to agitate for a wage hike,” K.D. Lal Kantha of the Opposition Trade Union Federation said.