A coalition of retired public servants will stage a peaceful protest near Galle Face Green in Colombo on Tuesday, April 28, in escalating pressure on the government to rectify what they describe as pension anomalies stemming from the 2025 Budget.
The demonstration, organised by the Western Province Government Retiree’s Alliance, is scheduled to commence at 10 a.m. According to Coordinating Secretary D.K.S. Ravindra, nearly 154,000 public servants who retired between 2020 and 2024 have been adversely affected by provisions in the 2025 Budget that have widened the gap between current salaries and the pensions paid to those who left the service in that window.
Ravindra said repeated attempts by the alliance to secure administrative or policy remedies had failed, prompting the decision to mobilise. He described the disparity as historically significant and warned that the protest would mark the beginning of a sustained campaign of trade union–style action if a resolution was not forthcoming.
The Alliance, which draws members from the Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara districts, is calling on the government to address the issue in the 2027 Budget and to ensure what it terms “financial justice” for the retired state employee community.
Ravindra said the demonstration would be peaceful and framed it as a necessary step to safeguard the dignity and economic security of retired public servants. The 2025 Budget pension framework has previously drawn complaints from teacher and health-sector retirees seeking pay-pension parity. Sri Lanka’s January 2026 budget showed a near-surplus position, though retiree groups argue fiscal space should be directed towards resolving the pension gap rather than surplus management.
Source: The Island.
