President offers relief to self-employed

While adopting relief measures for public sector employees the Government will provide immediate relief for millions of people who are self-employed or employed in other sectors, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told trade union officials at Temple Trees yesterday.

The President said the increase of salaries of public servants and of State corporation employees was to be done methodically while a special program to increase productivity of all national products to upgrade the economic status of the people will be implemented by the Government as an urgent measure, a Presidential Secretariat press release said. Trade Union leaders who met the President assured him that the public and the working class reposed faith in him just as they had when terrorism was defeated and the trade unions were prepared to support him.

Western Province Governor Alavi Mowlana and Ministers Athauda Seneviratne, A.H.M.Fowzie, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Mervyn Silva and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga were present.