State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe says that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka should be called before the Committee on Public Finance.
It was to inquire about the salary increase of Central Bank of Sri Lanka officials, which has led to a controversy.
It was also reported that several parliamentary committees have decided to call Central Bank officials to find out the legal basis for the salary increase of Central Bank employees.
The central bank has raised its staff salaries this year by between 29.53% (most junior office assistants) and 76.97% (for its highest grade).
It is also reported that the Governor of the Central Bank is not entitled to a salary increase.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said the increases were due to negotiations with seven employee unions based on collective agreements that require salary revisions every three years.
The new pay scales, which came into force last month, will remain unchanged till December 2026.
This salary increase of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the regulator of the financial sector, has been heavily criticized in the media and in Parliament.
Ministers have recently questioned widely in Parliament why the Monetary Board of Sri Lanka (MBSL) approved such wage increases when the country’s population continues to face economic hardship.
Critics said that even chief officers of revenue-generating institutions were paid less than office assistants at the central bank.
