As Sri Lanka’s financial crisis bites deeper, retired MPs are preparing for a global showdown over pension rights. The Retired MPs’ Union warns of legal action and an appeal to Geneva’s Human Rights Council if their benefits are slashed.
The Retired Members of Parliament Union has expressed serious concern over the government’s move to abolish the pensions of former MPs, warning that legal action and international appeals are on the horizon if the proposal is implemented.
Union Secretary Premasiri Manage stated that if the government follows through with removing their pension rights, the former MPs will file a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court. Should this fail to yield results, they plan to escalate the matter to global institutions, including the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and Amnesty International.
Manage strongly emphasized that an MP’s pension like any other earned pension cannot be revoked. He noted that many MPs had left other public service roles to enter Parliament, sacrificing previous pensions in the process. Losing their entitlement now would leave them with nothing.
According to Manage, former parliamentarians are eligible for a third of the MP salary if they served up to five years, two-thirds for ten years, and a full salary pension for service extending fifteen years or more.
The union also raised concerns about the financial hardships faced by some retired MPs. Reports indicate that certain individuals do not even own a house and are struggling to afford medication. The pension, they argue, is a lifeline not a luxury.
Manage concluded that any move to strip this entitlement would not only be a violation of their constitutional rights but a betrayal of those who once served the country.
