Update — August 7: The government has denied that MPs’ salaries were raised, attributing the change to an adjustment of the fuel allowance. Details at the foot of this article.

The monthly salaries of Members of Parliament have been increased by Rs. 60,000, MP Ramanathan Archchuna told the House on Thursday, saying the new figure stands at Rs. 484,000.

Archchuna made the claim during a sitting of Parliament while holding up his own pay sheet in the chamber. He used it to attack the government benches over public sector wages.

“You can increase salaries for MPs but are unable to increase the salaries of poor state workers,” he said.

The remarks triggered a confrontation with government MP Upul Kithsiri, who was presiding at the time and asked Archchuna to confine himself to the matter under discussion.

“You allow others to speak of many things while only I am prevented. This is unfair,” Archchuna replied.

Kithsiri then announced that anything Archchuna said in breach of Standing Orders would be expunged from the record.

“I see that all government members are legally dealt with one day,” Archchuna said in response.

The figures cited in the exchange were stated by Archchuna in the chamber and have not been separately confirmed by the Parliament Secretariat. The Jaffna MP has previously drawn attention to parliamentary remuneration by making his own salary details public.

Public sector pay remains a live political issue. A special commission announced under the 2026 Budget to address long-standing salary disparities in the state sector began work in May, and trade unions in several sectors have pressed for increases through the year.

Government denies a pay rise

Deputy Minister of Economic Development Nishantha Jayaweera told Parliament on Friday that MPs’ salaries had not been increased, and that any rise reflected an adjustment to the fuel allowance rather than to pay, Ada Derana reported.

Jayaweera said the government had revised the fuel allowance paid to public officials entitled to the benefit, following an improvement in the country’s economic position.

“The salaries of MPs have not been increased in any way. However, the fuel allowance provided to government officials entitled to this benefit was adjusted according to current fuel prices. The Government made this decision as the economic situation improved,” he said.

He added that all government officials receiving fuel allowances had seen a similar increase in their benefits, and that this adjustment may have produced the corresponding rise for Members of Parliament.

The deputy minister did not dispute Archchuna’s Rs. 484,000 figure directly, nor state the size of the fuel allowance adjustment. Neither the original claim nor the rebuttal has been separately verified against Parliament Secretariat records.