The Committee on Public Finance (COPF) today presented to Parliament the report consisting of recommendations related to the recent salary hike of Central Bank staff.
Chairman of COPF, MP Harsha de Silva presenting the report to Parliament said that the Committee recommends reviewing the salary hike by an independent committee.
He further said that following the review it has been proposed to hand over a report in 4 weeks.
MP Harsha de Silva said that the COPF has also recommended that until such time, to postpone the salary hikes of the Central Bank staff.
The COPF also strongly recommends that the system of determining wages for professional staff should be separate from that of non-professional and other staff, he added.
The matter was brought before the COPF after it was raised in Parliament proceedings, with several MPs questioning the revision of remuneration of CBSL employees that was approved by the bank’s Governing Board.
Following the queries in Parliament, the CBSL Executive Officers’ Union issued a clarification, stating that the salary increment was provided under the triennial Collective Agreement entered into with the Trade Unions covering the period 2024- 2026.
Clarifying the matter further, the Union highlighted that the collective agreement for 2024-2026 was a result of negotiation between the management and the unions.
Stating that it is no secret that the central bank’s salaries are higher than other services, the Union said they require a competitive salary to do their jobs without pressure. (NewsWire)