• Govt. Officers TUs warn   

The Sri Lanka Government Officers’ Trade Union Association (SLGOTUA) stated that if any public servants are dismissed due to a request from the International Monetary Fund or a Governmental decision, it should only take place after discussions with all the relevant parties and after ensuring adequate compensation for the affected employees.

Senior Presidential Advisor Duminda Hulangamuwa recently said that the country would have to downsize its public sector employees from 1.3 million to 750,000 in the coming years.

When queried by The Daily Morning about the matter, SLGOTUA National Organiser, B.A.P. Basnayake said that the Government should not dismiss public servants all of a sudden, adding that such a programme should be implemented only after discussions with all the relevant parties. 

“If such a decision is made, the affected public servants should receive justice. The Government should first hold discussions with us and come into agreement. If they try to dismiss public servants all at once like the Government did in the 1980s, it will be the Government that will have to go home, and not the public servants.”

Multiple attempts to contact the Minister of Public Administration A.H.M.H. Abayarathna proved futile.

Hulangamuwa projected that the general Treasury will struggle to sustain current expenditure levels in the coming years. He suggested the need to downsize the public sector workforce from 1.3 million to 750,000 employees to align with financial constraints. 

Speaking at an event in Colombo, he explained that the funds available to the Treasury will not be sufficient to maintain a large public sector, urging the rationalisation of public services, workforce reductions, and a shift toward digitalisation. He also suggested paying competitive salaries to the remaining staff to boost efficiency and to ensure that taxpayers’ funds are used effectively.