Sri Lanka has established its first dedicated commission to address longstanding pension issues and salary anomalies affecting public servants. The 15-member body officially began operations on Tuesday under government patronage.
Sri Lanka has inaugurated the Public Officers' Salaries and Pensions Commission, marking the country's inaugural effort to create a dedicated institutional framework for addressing pension-related concerns among retired public servants. The Commission, which commenced operations in Colombo on Tuesday under the oversight of the Minister of Public Administration, was formally gazetted on June 22, 2026, following a proposal by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the 2026 Budget.
Headed by former Ministry Secretary Ashoka Peiris with Nalaka Disanayake serving as Secretary, the 15-member body has been tasked with recommending solutions to longstanding salary and pension issues, promoting professionalism within the public service, and advising on structural reforms to modernize administration in line with technological developments. Minister Chandana Abeyratne noted that no commission had examined public sector salary issues for over two decades, emphasizing that this represents the government's commitment to a comprehensive, evidence-based approach rather than piecemeal solutions.
The government is implementing revised salary increases across three phases from January 2025 to January 2027, with the restructured scales also applying to officers who retired on or after January 1, 2025, for pension calculation purposes. Public sector recruitment, suspended since 2020, has resumed with Cabinet approval for recruiting 120,000 new public servants. Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe acknowledged that previous attempts to resolve salary anomalies had failed to produce satisfactory outcomes, expressing confidence that the Commission would adopt a systematic approach.
The government has opened a two-month submission period beginning Tuesday for trade unions, professional organizations, and members of the public to present views and proposals to the Commission. A trilingual public notice outlining the submission process is scheduled for publication in newspapers this week.
