The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to grant permanent appointments to approximately 9,800 employees currently serving in state institutions on a temporary, irregular (daily), substitute, contract or relief basis.
Cabinet spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the decision was taken under Budget Proposal No. 33.11 of the 2026 Budget, which had directed the government to regularise the large pool of non-permanent staff across the public sector.
The measure covers employees in the public service, the provincial public service, state corporations, statutory boards and other state institutions. The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government issued Circular No. 11/2026 on May 1 — Labour Day — formally rolling out the procedures for granting the permanent appointments. The circular has been forwarded to ministry secretaries, provincial chief secretaries, heads of departments and heads of state corporations and statutory boards for implementation.
The joint proposal was submitted by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as Minister of Finance, together with the Minister of Public Administration.
The move responds to longstanding grievances of workers who have served the state for years without job security, leave entitlements or pension cover. Successive governments have built up a parallel workforce of casual, substitute and contract employees to fill gaps in essential services without expanding the formal public-sector cadre.
The Dissanayake administration is balancing the regularisation against International Monetary Fund commitments to contain the public-sector wage bill, which it has pledged to keep at 2.6 percent of GDP. The January 2026 budget had registered a near-surplus at the start of the year, but the Treasury has not disclosed the additional recurrent cost the new permanent appointments will add.
Sources: Newswire, Ada Derana — Circular 11/2026.
