This operation will be carried out from the coming September
He informed that a total of Rs 5,500 will be given to pensioners in government service as interim allowance.
The Minister of State mentioned that an expert committee headed by UR Senaviratne has recently been appointed as per the instructions of the President to consider the disparities in government employee salaries and make relevant future revisions and based on the review, this interim allowance will be given to the retired government employees till the implementation of the revised salary structure from 2025 onwards.
The State Minister pointed out that around 7 lakh government service pensioners are currently receiving pension and the government will have to bear an additional expenditure of Rs 8.4 billion to provide this interim payment in 2024.
Despite the challenges in debt management, the move was taken as a quick short-term solution by the government in view of the financial crisis faced by retired government employees, the state minister said.
Meanwhile, a special meeting was held yesterday (02) morning between the State Minister Ranjith Siambalapitiya and the officials of the Joint National Organization of Government Pensioners, and a discussion was also held regarding increasing the interest rate of the senior citizens by removing pension discrepancies.
