- Additional Rs. 750 m allocation will be needed every month
Ahead of the Presidential Election, employees of the State-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) are likely to receive a salary hike of around 25%, The Sunday Morning learns.
The board will need to allocate nearly Rs. 750 million per month to cover this salary increase.
A high-ranking Government source told The Sunday Morning that the Power and Energy Ministry had already submitted the relevant Cabinet paper, which is expected to be discussed at tomorrow’s (2) Cabinet meeting.
According to CEB statistics, a total of Rs. 3 billion per month is currently spent on employee salaries.
The Cabinet will decide whether the Rs. 10,000 promised by the Government will be included in this salary hike or given separately.
Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera recently announced salary reforms at the CEB.
This move has been criticised by trade unions, particularly the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-affiliated Lanka Viduli Sevaka Sangamaya (LVSS) and the CEB Engineers’ Union, who view it as a political manoeuvre.
LVSS President Ranjan Jayalal has accused the Minister of excluding major unions and conducting a superficial meeting.
A letter from CEB Acting General Manager Eng. Dr. Narendra De Silva to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) had revealed that the CEB had amassed financial losses of Rs. 412.1 billion from 2013 to 2023.
Despite a reported profit of over Rs. 61 billion in the last fiscal year, the CEB still faces substantial debt and operational difficulties.
The CEB owes Rs. 1,229 million to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), Rs. 16,547 million to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Rs. 9,085 million to Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE) developers, Rs. 51,906 million in outstanding loans to People’s Bank, Rs. 63,673 million in Treasury sub-loans, and Rs. 100,445 million to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, a senior official from the Ministry of Power and Energy confirmed that a proposal to raise the salaries of CEB employees had been submitted.
The official noted that the proposed salary increase had to be approved by the Election Commission due to the current election period.
Additionally, the exact percentage of the increase will be determined by the Cabinet.