• Claims 2022 EPF interest rate for CBSL employees significantly higher than for pvt. sector workers  

Opposition Parliamentarian Gevindu Cumaratunga has filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition against the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) before the Supreme Court (SC) based on several grounds including the fact that the interest rate paid for the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) deposits of its employees for several years is significantly higher than the rate that is usually paid for private sector employees.

The CBSL, the CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Attorney General President's Counsel Sanjay Rajaratnam, the State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe, and the Commissioner General of Labour H.K.K.A. Jayasundara have been named as respondents to the petition, which was filed before the SC yesterday (14).

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday, Cumaratunga said that the rate of return and/or the interest fixed in terms of Section 14(1) of the EPF Act, No. 15 of 1958 for 2022 was 9% whereas the interest rate paid to members of the CBSL Provident Fund (CBSL employees) for the same year was fixed at 29.27%. He also said that he had presented a set of related questions to the Parliament in July of last year (2023), but that the relevant State Minister (Semasinghe) had answered them after obtaining two successive extensions of time without any reasonable ground. Noting that the EPF was established by the relevant Act with the vision "to be the most caring superannuation Fund in the region enabling the members to have a contented life in retirement " and with a mission to provide "maximum retirement benefits and an efficient service to the members through the prudent and innovative management of the Fund", he said that the aim of the EPF is to assure financial stability to the employee in the retirement stage of life and to reward the employee for their role in the economic growth of the country. In order to achieve the objectives and receive the benefits legitimately expected by the members of the EPF, he said that the respective interest rates fixed annually should be rationally in proportion to the contemporary annual inflation rate declared by the Department of Census and Statistics.

"However, the interest rate paid on the EPF for 2022 is irrational, unfair, arbitrary, and contrary to its objectives, and deprives the legitimate expectations of the members of the Fund. The respondents were vested with a strict statutory duty to explore and endeavour to fix the interest rate at the maximum possible point, taking into consideration the abnormal and unusual inflation rate of 46.4% which prevailed in 2022. Notwithstanding the said high inflation rate and consequent hardships that the members of the Fund confronted during the said period, the interest rate fixed by the respondents for 2022 was only 9%" the FR petition filed by Cumaratunga read.

"The CBSL, the institution responsible for the EPF, has not acted with proper responsibility in relation to many matters. Paying one interest rate to ordinary private sector employees and a rate that is significantly higher than that to its employees is just one example. After paying the 9% interest to the EPF and sparing funds for the management of the Fund in 2022 out of the income that they earned by investing the EPF monies, there is a remaining sum of Rs. 21 billion. I have requested through this petition that a verdict be given that the FRs of the people have been violated due to the actions of the CBSL, and that an order therefore be issued to disburse the said Rs. 21 billion to the EPF members, and that the respondents be directed to pay compensation to the aggrieved parties accordingly," he said.