No one in the private sector can be removed from work. Either 50% of the salary or a minimum of Rs. 14,500 must be paid to employees during closure – GovernmentÂ
Co-Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena revealed today at the media briefing of cabinet decisions, that the Labour Minister Dinesh Gunawardena informed the cabinet about the agreement reached between the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC), the trade unions and the Ministry of Skills Development, Employment and Labour Relations with regard to the job security and salaries of private sector employees during the subsistence of Covid-19 crisis.
Accordingly, based on the basic salary of an employee, employers will allocate and pay wages for the number of days worked, while wages for the number of days they did not work (days on the bench without any work) will be paid either at Rs. 14,500 OR at 50% of the basic wage (whichever is higher).
The private sector businesses are gradually getting back to work, and the government has agreed to this settlement for the well being of the public, said Mr. Gunawardena. Furthermore, he expressed that the government is happy to come to an agreement like this, which is essential to safeguard the lives and occupations of private sector employees, while reducing the hardships faced by the businessmen to some extent, in this serious crisis situation.
