Former government minister under the United National Congress (UNC) Jack Warner is rejecting a proposal by the Salaries Review Commission (SRC) to raise the income of the President, Prime Minister, Opposition Leader and other parliamentarians.
On Friday, the SRC presented its 17th report in the House of Representatives. However, Warner criticized the report as it proposed a significant increase in the income of the prime minister by 34 per cent (from $59,680 to $80,000), the president by 15 per cent (from $64,270 to $73,920), and the opposition leader by 60.5 per cent (from $29,590 to $47,500).
Warner disagreed with the proposal, stating that government officials’ salaries should reflect their management of the country.
“If you base salary on job evaluation and performance, from the prime minister down, their salary should be cut in half because they don’t earn it, they don’t work for it!” he said.
The retired politician, who was also a minister under the People’s Partnership government, welcomed the UNC’s rejection of the proposal. However, he questioned why Government has remained silent.
“I am heartened that the opposition has said no. I am heartened that we have an example in Jamaica where Prime Minister Andrew Holness has said no. But here nobody saying anything because you know why? ‘I want meh money, I want meh money’ and until we decide to stand up and resist these insidious efforts being made to oppress the people nothing will change. The salary increases are absurd,” he said.
Warner also questioned whether the SRC members were living in “coo coo land” adding that they should be committed to St Ann’s, the psychiatric hospital, for medical examination.
The leader of the Patriotic Front and daughter of former prime minister Basdeo Panday, Mickela Panday, expressed similar sentiments. She pointed out that the Government has been blaming a lack of funds for various issues that the country is facing, such as water supply problems, inadequate conditions in some schools, a shortage of medicine in hospitals, and insufficient resources for the police service and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) office.
She reminded Government that public servants were only offered a 4 per cent increase in wages amid the same circumstances the report was based on which includes the fallout from the pandemic and the cost of living.
“If this is the state of the economy of a country blessed with so much natural resources, politicians are going to have a difficult time justifying any kind of wage increase at this time,” she said.
“Given so many people are still suffering from the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, and so many families are struggling to make ends meet with the high cost of living, this proposed increase should never be accepted as a priority at this time,” she added.
The SRC’s recommendations come ten years after MPs and ministers received a pay increase. However, despite the benefits for their members, the UNC has stated that it is not the appropriate time for such an adjustment.
Meanwhile, four trade unions slammed the proposal as “vexatious” and a “slap in the face” including the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC), the Fire Service Association of T&T, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) and the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM).