(Trinidad Express) Presi-dent George Maxwell Richards and Prime Minister Patrick Manning, as well as government ministers and opposition MPs, should not get salary increases because of the current economic downturn in the country.
This was the recommendation of the Salaries Review Commission (SRC) in its 89th report, which raised red flags after its review of the economy and advised the need for caution. The report was laid in the Parliament on Friday.
Information Minister Neil Parsanlal, in a statement to the House, said, “The SRC has proposed, and Cabinet has accepted, that there will be no salary increases for holders of offices within the purview of the Salaries Review Commission, inclusive of members of this honourable House, at this time. The SRC has recommended instead that consideration be given to a review of these remuneration arrangements before the usual three-year interval, should there be a reversal of the current downward trend in the economic environment.”
He added that the SRC indicated some exceptions to its recommendations with respect to the salaries, but for only the following office holders:
– Certain offices in the judicial and legal service which had not previously been evaluated, but had been slotted into the existing structure as an interim measure;
– Those offices in the judicial and legal services which Cabinet agreed should be re-evaluated; – New offices which had been placed within the purview of the Salaries Review Commission.
In its report, the SRC stated, “In light of the current economic environment, globally and locally, we are of the view that it is incumbent on us to proceed with caution. While we are not insensitive to the submissions made by office holders, we consider that the environment demands a prudent approach to compensation reviews and sacrifices at all levels of the society.” The SRC stated that it faced considerable difficulty in preparing the report given the constantly changing economic environment.
“In fact, the current environment has been described as a nightmare for policymakers, given the extent of its unpredictability. Indeed, in many advanced economies and increasingly in developed ones, the worsening economic situation has been marked by mounting job losses, salary freezes and demands for a review of the bases and elements of executive compensation,” the SRC further stated. The following are the current salaries of higher office holders, exclusive of perks and additional benefits;
President-$49,500
Prime Minister-$48,000
Minister of Government (Cabinet) -$33,000
Minister of Government
(non Cabinet)-$27,300
Leader of the Opposition-$23,800
Opposition MPs-$14,000
Independent and Opposition Senators-$10,500
