News
Cogwheels of public admin still struggling for salary revision
View(s):By Ishu Bandara
More than 50,000 state provincial public management service officers (MSOs) across the country have been struggling to win their demands, repeatedly presenting them to successive governments since 2013. Their demands remain unresolved leaving many officers demoralised and dissatisfied.
Amila Bandara
The Chief Secretary of the State Provincial Public Management Services Officers’ Union, Amila Bandara, told the Sunday Times: “As MSOs, we are involved in clerical, administrative, and management related functions across various public institutions such as ministries, departments, provincial councils, and district secretariats. We also play a critical role in ensuring the smooth functioning of government services. But unfortunately, this struggle has drained us over the years.”
MSOs say they should receive a higher salary than the current one, in proportion to their duties. They said most applicants who are already working as MSOs are graduates, even though only three passes at Advanced Level, including a credit pass in mathematics, are needed. Their main request is to upgrade their salaries to the MN3 salary scale.
Aloka Bandara, secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, Local Government, and Labour who was former director general of Combined Services, also recommended this salary scale and advised the Public Service Commission and the then National Salaries and Cadres Commission in a letter dated August 11, 2021.
In that letter, he pointed out that MSOs are assigned all responsibilities related to providing management support for administrative activities within institutions. He also emphasised that one of the most challenging aspects is securing an appointment as an MSO, as it requires passing highly competitive examinations and therefore, it is appropriate to place the Management Service Officer Service under the MN-03 salary scale, or alternatively, under a salary scale equivalent to MN-02 or higher.
In addition to the above, the longstanding demands from MSOs include the prompt implementation of a promotion examination system based on exceptional performance, as directed by Cabinet Paper No. 22/006/315/003 dated 1 March, 2022, and the restoration of executive status that was lost to MSOs under Public Administration Circular 6/2006.
They have also requested the filling of existing vacancies in the service. The Chief Secretary MSOs expressed their appreciation to the government for scheduling the examination originally gazetted on July 17 2020 for May 18 2025, to fill vacancies in the central government. They also asked that the exam be reopened to fill additional vacancies that have arisen since 2020.
Their other request is to establish a training institute to provide advanced diploma and degree opportunities for management service officers to develop their professional skills.
The Chief Secretary of the State Provincial Public Management Services Officers’ Union, Amila Bandara, told the Sunday Times that although they have continuously met with ministers and secretaries since 2013, they have not received any written response from any of them. As a result, they were compelled to file a request under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to obtain a progress report.
Amila Bandara
When the Sunday Times asked Prof. Chandana Abeyratne, the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, he said that a progress report should be issued following such meetings to ensure proper follow up.
He also mentioned that, after the Sunday Times brought the issue to his attention, he discussed the matter with his Secretary, Aloka Bandara, on May 22. As a result, a decision was made to hold the examinations between June and July 2025. He intends to submit a proposal to the Cabinet to establish a training institute for MSOs as well.
He said he would be involved in resolving the salary discrepancy affecting MSOs and would also consider the MN3 salary scale as a possible solution.
Secretary to the minister, Aloka Bandara, told the Sunday Times that any clarification regarding matters related to MSOs should be sought from the Provincial Public Service Commission, not the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government.
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