Fact Check: Claims about JVP Policy on Salary Increases for Estate Workers and Recent Government Actions

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As the national elections in Sri Lanka approach, a significant surge of misleading social media posts is being observed. These posts are spreading false information about political parties and their policies, creating confusion among the electorate. The rapid dissemination of such misinformation on platforms like Facebook and X is contributing to a distorted political discourse, potentially influencing voter perceptions and decisions in the critical run-up to the elections.

Social Media Posts

Recent social media posts claim that according to recent policy statements(related to women's affairs) by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a major political party in Sri Lanka, salaries for state workers should be increased to Rs. 1000. The posts also state that President Wickremesinghe has already increased their salaries to Rs. 1700.

ජේවීපී ස්ත්‍රී ප්‍රඥප්තියෙ ඉල්ලීමක් තමයි "වතු කම්කරු දිනක වැටුප අවමය රු 1000/- බවට පත්කිරීම"

රනිල් ඒක රුපියල් 1,700/- ක් කරලා මාසෙකටත් වැඩියි.

— Sudaththa Ariyasena (@sudaththa) July 2, 2024

Archived

We decided to fact check this.

Fact Check

JVP Policy Statements:

Recent Policy Updates: No recent policy statements related to salary increases for state workers have been issued by the JVP. The NPP media unit, affiliated with the JVP, confirmed that no new policy updates have been published for 2024 related to women affairs and estate workers, excluding science, technology, and engineering.And they added that the numbers were related to that time and not current situation.

2019 Policy Document: The most recent accessible policy document related to women affairs from the JVP dates back to 2019. It mentions an increment of salaries of estate workers up to Rs. 1000 under their government, but this document is five years old and was created before the 2020 general election and the recent economic crisis , which has significantly increased the cost of living and prices of goods.The policy document can be reached here

President Wickremesinghe's Actions:

Government Gazette Notification: On May 1, 2024, the government released a gazette notification ordering a 70% salary increase for estate workers, raising their salaries from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1700.The announcement of PMD can be reached here

Implementation: Despite the gazette notification, this salary increment has not yet been implemented in many estates.

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Conclusion:

The claim that the JVP recently advocated for a Rs. 1000 salary for state workers is false. The JVP's last policy statement on this matter was made in 2019, and no recent updates have been issued. The information about President Wickremesinghe increasing the salaries to Rs. 1700 is accurate but has not yet been fully implemented.