Irrational demands for salary hike

Last week, non-executive employees of the public sector launched a two-day strike, demanding a Rs. 20,000 allowance. The request for such a payment was made following the Government’s decision in June to grant an allowance of Rs. 25,000 to the public sector employees representing the executive grades. Development Officers were at the forefront of this agitation, which appeared to have the support of Leftist political groups. 

Unlike non-executive workers such as drivers and peons, executive-grade officers cannot claim overtime allowances. In fact, with overtime allowances, the final take-home-pay of non-executive workers exceeds the salaries of executive-level employees. It was to rectify this anomaly, the Government decided to grant a special executive allowance of Rs. 25,000.

The request for the salary increase comes in the backdrop of the Wickremesinghe administration having granted a Rs. 10,000 salary hike by the 2023 Budget. It must also be noted that in 2022, a special allowance of Rs. 5,000 was given to State sector workers (referred to as Basil’s 5000). In such a context, launching a strike to obtain another allowance of Rs. 20,000 cannot be justified under any grounds. State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe was quoted to have remarked that around Rs. 275 billion would have been needed to undertake a salary increase of such magnitude, which would have compelled the Government to increase the VAT rate from 18% to 21%. 

The inflation has decelerated quite considerably over the last few months while the plans are underway to reduce the electricity charges applicable for households by about 27%. Amidst such developments, agitating for an exorbitant salary increase defies any rationale. The rate of VAT had to be increased from 15% to 18% in order to finance the Rs. 10,000 salary increase, which would have made the Government highly unpopular particularly among private sector workers who also have to sacrifice their salaries to the Treasury in accordance with the re-imposition of PAYE tax.

It is well known that Sri Lanka’s ratio of Government workers to citizens is one of the highest in the world, and public sector salaries consume a lion share of taxes collected from people. Some of the workers who took part in the two-day strike, especially Development Officers, were recruited to the public service purely based on political considerations. Their union led by Chandana Sooriyaarachchi – a leading NPP political activist – vigorously campaigned for the salary increase. The taxpayers have the right to know the duties and functions performed by Development Officers, as there is a perception within the society that the amount of work performed by them is not commensurate with their pay levels. It is alleged these officers idle in Divisional Secretariats without doing justice to what they receive from taxpayers. Unlike others in the public service, Development Officers have no clearly designated duties and responsibilities.

In Sri Lanka, Art graduates who are unable to secure employment in the private sector often resort to the practice of forcing the Government to grant them artificially created jobs. In other countries, graduates contribute to their economies even as farmers, carpenters or minor workers. In the neighbouring India, there are instances where individuals with Master degrees work as office aides. The view that graduates must compulsorily work in certain defined roles needs to disappear from the society as it is not consistent with empirical evidence from the globe. Meanwhile, certain segments of the public sector employees, like Customs as well as Police are viewed with contempt and disdain as they are synonymous with bribery and corruption. Customs is widely recognised as a den of thieves, and it is well known their misdemeanours contribute to a huge loss of Government revenue. The excessive, burdensome public sector workforce is an enormous hindrance to the country’s economic development and going forward, its size needs to be trimmed down gradually in order to reduce the burden on taxpayers.