Jan 23, Colombo: Trade unions affiliated to Sri Lanka's state transport sector say that despite claims by the government that funds have been allocated to grant salary increments to Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), it has not happened.

The trade unions claim that the Transport Ministry was therefore unlikely to grant salary increases to the SLTB employees.

General Secretary of the All Ceylon Transport Workers' Union (ACTWU), Sepala Liyanage has said the amount required by the Board to pay salaries is Rs. 11 billion.

However, he has observed that only Rs. 2.8 billion has been allocated by the government.

He has explained that the SLTB required Rs 945 million per month to pay the salaries of employees.

According to Liyanage, the Finance Ministry allocates only Rs. 500 million per month to pay salaries of SLTB employees.