Pension able status


by S. Thambyrajah

(June 12, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) With progressive measures adopted, many beneficial changes took place. The cost of living and several other factors required both parents to be employed. The state employee was allowed no pay leave to go abroad to earn Valuable Foreign Exchange. Some of them over-stayed and were declared as having vacated post Tuition classes sprung and took a big slice of the Income of the monthly wage earner.

Security for children, the unsatisfactory public transport resulted. In another big slice off the income to engage private vans plying for school service The novel system of education required the daffy attention of the parents to monitor and help in the large amount of home work given to children. Where the husband was working in a different part of the country, the entire burden of responsibility of the children fell on the spouse. Some of them had to look after elder parents. Being unable to get sufficient leave or no-pay leave, some resigned their posts.

The Pension Department as well as the Departments in which a state employee worked would do well to review all such cases where a pension was denied. In doing so, those who completed ten years service or more and had a good record should be granted a pension. The following are worthy of note;- (a) To condone the period of vacation of post as leave without pay to enable to get the continuity of service (b) To add the period of daily pay and temporary service and condone the breaks to include such service as continuous. These points are made, having considerable experience and personal knowledge. Such measures were taken in helping bona fide cases, who dedicated a good part of their early life to the benefit of the public service.. All that is required is a positive approach in keeping with the. spirit of a Democratic Socialist Republic.
- Sri Lanka Guardian