The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on Saturday (23) said that a majority of senior management and professionals of CBSL have made a collective decision to consider a revision to their salaries that sparked controversy.

Issuing a statement, the CBSL said that the recent salary revision for the period 2024-2026 made by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), post the collective agreement between the Governing Board and the employee representatives, created much discourse among the public.

Furthermore, the statement mentions that this decision was communicated to the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 16th March 2024, prior to and independent of the recommendations made by COPF.

The COPF Chairman has meantime recommended that the collective agreement to increase salaries of CBSL staff be reviewed by an independent committee, entailing revisions across all employee categories of CBSL, it added.

The CBSL, as the apex financial institution in the country, functions autonomously using the powers vested to it, previously under the Monetary Law Act, No. 58 of 1949 and now under the CBSL Act, No. 16 of 2023, the statement highlighted.

Additionally, the CBSL expresses that it is held accountable in achieving and maintaining domestic price stability and securing stability of the country’s financial system. To achieve this critical National mandate, the CBSL employs many experienced and professional staff under its wing and the recent salary revision was made with the intention to retain its experienced staff in order to function at its full capacity, it added.