Private sector salary concessions extended

Cabinet approves to extend private sector salary payment concessions

by Zulfick Farzan 12-01-2021 | 11:33 AM

Colombo (News 1st); The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to extend the agreed grace period for the payment of the salaries to the private sector employees in the wake of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic until December this year.

In early 2020, a Task Force representing Employers, Trade Unions, the National Labor Advisory Council, the Ministry of Labor, and the Department of Labor was appointed to look into the payment of salaries to the private sector employees in the wake of the crisis caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.

The Task Force agreed to act on the following :

- Employees work proportionately under a shift system or another suitable procedure which unable to employ all the employees in institutions due to the need to protect the social distance.

- Paying a more advantageous sum of money either 50% of the basic salary or 14,500 of the basic salary for the month in which they paid their 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 and Employees’ Trust Fund for such salaries.

The Cabinet of Ministers agreed for the resolution furnished by the Minister of Labour to extend the aforementioned concessions further up to the month of March 2021 for the institutions relevant to the sector.