Parallel to increase of salaries of the public officers by the budget proposals 2025, it has been proposed to increase salaries of private sector employees as well. 

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the Minister of Labour to revise the national minimum monthly salary and national minimum daily wage and follow other legal actions as follows:

• To raise the minimum national monthly salary by rupees 9,500/- from rupees 17,500/- to rupees 27,000/- with effect from 01.04.2025
• To raise the minimum national daily salary by rupees 380/- from rupees 700/- to rupees 1,080/- with effect from 01.04.2025
• To raise the minimum national monthly salary by rupees 3,000/- from rupees 27,000/- to rupees 30,000/- with effect from 01.01.2026
• To raise the minimum national daily salary by rupees 120/- from rupees 1,080 /- to rupees 1,200/- with effect from 01.01.2026

The United States has also congratulated President-elect Anura Kumara Dissanayake on his victory in the Sri Lankan presidential election.US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US commends the people of Sri Lanka for peacefully exercising their right to vote.

The statement notes :
The United States congratulates President-elect Anura Kumara Dissanayake on his victory in the Sri Lankan presidential election, as confirmed by the vote results on September 22. We commend the people of Sri Lanka for peacefully exercising their right to vote. This election is a testament to the strength of Sri Lanka’s democratic institutions and the commitment of its citizens to shaping their future through peaceful and democratic means.

The United States remains committed to supporting Sri Lanka as it builds a stable, prosperous, and cohesive society. We look forward to working with President-elect Anura Kumara Dissanayake to further strengthen our bilateral ties, which are based on shared democratic values and respect for national sovereignty. We also look forward to promoting economic growth, security, and deeper cooperation between our nations.

The UN Human Rights Office has called on Sri Lanka’s creditors to provide the Government with the fiscal space needed to realize economic, social, and cultural rights.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk in a new report said that economic policy decisions must align with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations.

He added that the ongoing effects of the 2022 economic crisis and subsequent austerity measures have particularly impacted the poor, especially women.

A report issued by the UN Human Rights Office has also identified renewed threats to fundamental freedoms in Sri Lanka, highlighting new or proposed regressive laws, erosion of democratic checks and balances, ongoing threats and intimidation against civil society and journalists, and the recurrence of serious human rights violations from the past.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk emphasized the importance of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections as an opportunity for Sri Lanka to recommit to the transformational changes demanded by a broad cross-section of its citizens, including accountability and reconciliation.

The report points to several laws and bills introduced by the Government since 2023, which grant security forces broad powers and significantly expand restrictions on freedoms of expression, opinion, and association.

This trend is particularly concerning during the pre-election period, Türk noted.

Despite a promised moratorium, authorities have continued to use the Prevention of Terrorism Act to arrest and detain individuals. The report highlights recent cases of arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture, and deaths in custody.

Impunity and lack of accountability for crimes committed during and after the civil war, which ended in 2009, persist. Türk urged the newly elected Government to address the root causes of conflict and undertake fundamental constitutional and institutional reforms to close the accountability gap and work towards reconciliation.

The report also describes a long-standing pattern of intimidation and harassment of journalists and civil society actors, especially those working on enforced disappearances, land disputes, and environmental issues. Families of the forcibly disappeared face intimidation, arrest, and surveillance by security services in their attempts to seek the truth or commemorate their loved ones.

Türk emphasized that crimes and violations committed during and after the civil war, including the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, must not go unpunished. He called for thorough investigations and accountability for those responsible.

In the absence of the Sri Lankan State’s willingness or ability to prosecute and punish perpetrators, the report urges the international community to pursue complementary strategies to support accountability in Sri Lanka. These strategies include the use of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction, targeted sanctions against credibly alleged perpetrators, and other measures consistent with international law.

(newsfirst.lk)
(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by newsfirst.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)