If the government is really honest in increasing the salaries of the state employees it should be implemented before the election instructing the Salary Revision Committee to forward its report without further delay.

According to the government sources the matter is not yet over. Should such a committee having the ‘big and best’ officials require such a long period to finalise its report?

At the same time the working class could understand well that the delay is for reasons best known to all. We also read in newspapers and saw on television as well that the committee has finished its woek..

Interim allowances will not benefit the workers fully until the new salary is given to them. The workers cannot wait bearing the hardship till the ‘foreign bodies’ give order to our government to implement the same. They are living on ‘bread and butter ’ while we are on ‘bread and poll sambol’.

By this increase of the interim allowance of Rs. 1200 most of the workers have to pay PAYE tax as because non cash benefits like settlement of hospitalisation or OPD bills are added to their salaries.

This has happened due to the fact that the taxable amount was not adjusted accoding to the prevailing cost of living as done earlier.
Reader
Colombo