They also serve

The private sector at last are to win a long-standing demand that they too be made entitled to a pension on retirement from service. This contributory pension scheme was announced by the President when he presented the last budget in Parliament. True, there is an argument that private sector employees are a pampered lot and enjoy salaries and perks way above public sector employees. Equally it can also be said that the efficiency of the private sector has in recent times rubbed off on the public sector too propelling them to greater deeds.

This can be specifically seen in the banking sector where earlier all State banks were lackadaisical and wanting in efficiency. But today these State banks have acquired a new dynamism taking the cue from the private banking sector. In that sense it could be said that the private sector had acted as a catalyst to inject a new spirit and dynamism to the public sector causing the latter to be more efficient. It is therefore only fair that the private sector too be given equal attention not just for their pioneering role in many spheres but for also being catalyst for change, not to mention economic growth.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday told Parliament his Government will introduce legislation next month to give effect to his budgetary proposal for a pension scheme for the private sector employees and expatriate workers. The President no doubt is well aware of the role played by the private sector in stimulating the economy particularly at this stage of the country's development phase and would no doubt have taken cognisance of the need to encourage more private sector participation in the national endevours that calls for an even more dynamic and enterprising private sector.

It has been a long-standing grouse of the private sector employees that they had nothing to fall back on after their retirement. Some of them burdened with family commitments even after retirement have to depend solely on their EPF/ETF benefits to keep them afloat. The recent lament of dwindling interest rates on deposits have further eroded their purchasing power aggravating the situation. Therefore a pension would indeed be a huge fillip to this segment to tide over their difficulties.

Another bone of contention has been that while the PAYE scheme where they were being taxed on their earnings only applied to them the public sector until recently was exempt from this pay cut thus causing an injustice. True, the private sector employees as they say are well looked after and their emoluments cannot be matched by whatever that is offered by the public sector. In their favour however it could be equally said that unlike the public sector these private sector employees have to conform to an exacting work ethic and have to earn their keep all the way. There is no shirking or falling back on the job, as idlers are not tolerated - a far cry from the public sector notorious for the laxity and laissez-faire approach of its employees.

Besides the private sector too has contributed immensely towards the country's economic progress and in most instances have been in the vanguard pioneering various projects that stimulate economic growth so much so that over the years the private sector has earned the sobriquet of being the engine of growth. In this context and taking into account the larger picture it is but only fair that the private sector employees be justly rewarded for their contribution to the country's development and economic well-being. As mentioned, today it has been the lament of the retired private sector employees that they are even hard put to purchase their drugs. Most of them have to fend for themselves in the evening of their lives. They would ideally desire some form of financial support to live independently and with dignity. Therefore the decision of the Government to offer them some form of security in their old age should be commended.

Ditto for our expat workers who have undergone untold sufferings and privations to keep home fires burning and importantly boost the country's foreign exchange standing. If any segment deserves the munificence of the Government more than any other it is our housemaids who are still undergoing perilous risks. While some of these workers may succeed in saving something extra to sustain them in their retirement most others go through their earnings and are once again rendered destitute chiefly due to their many commitments on the domestic front.

A majority of these housemaids make the trip to these alien lands to help them acquire the basic necessities such as to build a home of their own, give their children away in marriage or redeem lands and property mortgaged to raise money for some pressing need. It is doubtful therefore if they would have any savings left given the paltry wages most of these female domestics are paid. Hence the need for some form of support scheme so that their toil, trials and tribulations during their lengthy stays abroad will not be in vain.