Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has signed a new bill increasing the minimum basic salary for private sector employees to 21,000 rupees. This adjustment, announced by the Ministry of Labor and Foreign Employment, is now recognized as the minimum salary for employee trust fund, employee provident fund, and gratuity payments.
The Ministry clarified that the updated national minimum monthly wage of 17,500 rupees plus an additional allowance of 3,500 rupees—based on the Budget Relief Acts No. 36 of 2005 and No. 4 of 2016—should also be considered.
This change builds on the National Minimum Wage Act No. 03 of 2016, which initially set the minimum wage at 10,000 rupees per month and 400 rupees per day. An amendment in 2021 raised these figures to 12,500 rupees and 500 rupees, respectively.
The recent economic downturn and rising cost of living have prompted this new amendment, which the Parliament adopted on September 3, 2024. The revised wage structure is set to take effect this month, addressing the lack of wage increases since 2021.
