President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed a new commission called the National Pay Commission to assist the government when formulating national wage policy.

The 19-member National Pay Commission will replace the National Salaries and Cadre Commission.

The new commission will also recommend a new methodology for payment of pensions since the government has a high pension bill.

The President has already said that there is an urgent need to formulate a national wage policy due to the widening gap between public sector and private sector salaries.

Taking into consideration all these concerns, the newly appointed Pay Commission is to advise the government on a national salaries and wages policy.

The commission is headed by Neville Piyadigama with Wimalasena Dissanayake as its Co-Chairmen and Bandulasiri Wijayaratne as its Secretary and is expected to present a report to the government after reviewing the current issues.