Abolishing Parliamentary Pensions in Sri Lanka 🇱🇰: Is it legit?

A bill to abolish pensions under the Parliamentary Pensions Act was tabled in Parliament this week. If passed, both current and former MPs who are eligible will stop receiving these pensions.

However, there are serious constitutional and legal implications:

⭕ The bill will likely be challenged in the courts due to its retroactive nature. Pensions were not a gratuity but a deferred right earned through service.

⭕ Retroactive discrimination or withdrawal of pension benefits has been ruled unconstitutional In many countries under the principle of equality before the law and protection of legitimate expectations.

⭕ It is absurd that MPs qualify for a lifetime pension after just five years of service. This is not something practiced in many other countries and should not continue.

Instead of retroactively removing pensions, the ideal approach would be:

⭕ Abolish the parliamentary pension scheme starting from the next Parliament and apply it only to future MPs.

⭕ Increase salaries and benefits for MPs to match at least C-level executive compensation, similar to countries like Singapore 🇸🇬. (Salary matching the CBSL Governor’s salary would be a good place to start.)

⭕ This would make the position attractive to highly accomplished individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those who might otherwise avoid public service due to financial constraints.

⭕ A higher-quality pool of candidates will lead to better representation and stronger governance for citizens.

#SriLanka 🇱🇰