• I say  this with responsibility. The government has no intention  whatsoever to impose any pay cut on private and public sector workers

By Kelum Bandara   

The Government has not initiated any dialogue to impose a pay cut on public and private sector employees to bolster the Covid fund, Cabinet spokesman minister Dullas Alahapperuma said yesterday.    

Minister Alahapperuma told the weekly Cabinet briefing that the Cabinet had not undertaken any such discussion. However, he said there were appeals right from the beginning for donations.   

“I say  this with responsibility. The government has no intention whatsoever to impose any pay cut on private and public sector workers,” he said.   

The Minister made this comment in response to a question posed as to whether the government was bracing for the salary cut after the announcement of the contribution of the August salary of the Cabinet Ministers to the Covid-19 , and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa asking the people to make sacrifices in the wake of a prolonged lock-down.