Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena yesterday (11) signed the Minimum Wage Bill passed in Parliament, making the minimum basic salary for private sector employees Rs. 21,000.
The Labour and Foreign Employment Ministry said that this should be considered the minimum wage when calculating payments for the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) and gratuity.
According to the Bill, the private sector employers will pay their employees a national minimum wage of Rs.17,500 along with an additional minimum wage of Rs. 3,500 from September this year.
The salary increment was provided according to the Budget Relief Acts No. 36 of 2005 and No. 4 of 2016, totalling a minimum wage of Rs. 21,000.
The new minimum wage should be applied to payments for the EPF, ETF and gratuity.
