Spice Industry Workers To Get Higher Special Allowance

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Ministry of Labour has officially declared revised special allowances for workers in the cocoa, cardamom, and pepper growing and manufacturing trade.

An extraordinary gazette published under Section 20(2)(b) of the Wages Boards Ordinance (Chapter 136), specifies the Cost of Living Index Numbers for November and December 2025 and the corresponding special allowance payable for normal working days in December 2025 and January 2026.

For November 2025, the Cost of Living Index stood at 212.2, entitling daily‑paid workers in the trade to a special allowance of Rs. 1,852.39 for each normal working day in December 2025. 

The subsequent notification states that the Cost of Living Index for December 2025 increased to 217.6, raising the special allowance to Rs. 1,920.58 per normal working day for January 2026. 

The announcements were signed by H. M. D. N. K. Wataliyadda, Commissioner General of Labour, and issued from the Department of Labour in Colombo.