Former Speaker and Chairman of the Retired Members of Parliament Collective, Karu Jayasuriya, has urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to reconsider the government’s decision to abolish pensions of former parliamentarians, warning that the move would affect about 490 retired and serving members.
Speaking to the media, Jayasuriya said, “For many, these pensions are essential for survival. Abolishing them will devastate the livelihoods of retired legislators and their families.”
Secretary of the Collective, former MP Pemasiri Manage, said that four party leaders currently received pensions..
Six party leaders, including Wimal Weerawansa, Dinesh Gunasekara, Tissa Witarana, and Vasudeva Nanayakkara, would lose their pensions if the Bill is enacted.
Manage said around 150 spouses of former MPs also relied on pensions, with a total of 490 former MPs and their families affected. He added that the pension of the late Lohan Ratwatte would now go to his widow.
Manage described Sri Lanka as “the only country in the world attempting to abolish the pensions of retired parliamentarians,” calling the move a violation of human rights. He said the Retired MPs Collective has appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, urging swift action against the government’s decision.
In a letter to the UN body, the Collective, which represents nearly 500 members, highlighted that most retired MPs have no other source of income. Manage further warned that if the pensions are abolished, they may be forced to demand the return of salaries earned illegally by all MPs during their tenure, from Pradeshiya Sabha members to national legislators.
Under the 1977 law passed by the National State Assembly, the Parliamentary Pensions Act No. 1 of 1977, MPs completing five years of service are entitled to a pension equal to one-third of their salary, while those serving 10 years or more can receive up to two-thirds of their salary. The law was intended to compensate MPs who forfeit state pensions upon being sworn in, as required by the Constitution.
Manage said that the new government, however, has decided to scrap the pension system. Cabinet approval has already been granted to instruct the Legal Draftsman to prepare a Bill repealing the Parliamentary Pensions Act.
The Retired MPs Collective has vowed to pursue legal action if the pension is abolished stating that many retired MPs are elderly, or ill, and are unable to find employment or run businesses. They argue that it is extremely unfair to abolish their pensions, which are often barely enough to meet their family’s basic needs.