Committee proposes doubling of ministerial salaries

Proposals put forward by a committee appointed by the government would see MPs, Cabinet members, the President, the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition and the Speaker receiving a hefty pay rise.

The proposals - presented to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in December 2013 - would see the PM receiving a yearly salary of €94,975, an increase of €44,699 over his current basic pay. The President would receive €95,000, a 68.7% increase over the current salary. 

The Leader of the Opposition will see an increase in salary from €42,232 to €71,469.

The details of the proposed pay rise, published in The Malta Independent, suggests replacing the yearly €20,110 honorarium paid to MPs with a full-time annual salary. Should the proposal be refused and they remain part-time MPs, the proposed annual salary of €59,834 would be halved. 

Parliamentary whips and deputy speakers would also receive a pay rise, the former going from €30,165 to €69,806 and the latter from €25,137 to €69,806. They too would have a reduction in salary if the full-time MP recommendation is not taken up, a decrease of 25%.

The commission that proposed the salaries is made up of Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino, Auditor-General Anthony C. Mifsud and former Chief Electoral Commissioner Saviour Gauci.

Professionals should be paid a professional salary, according to the commission, which said that although those entering politics should not do so for the remuneration, the personal sacrifices made while in office should be acknowledged. A fair salary, it went on, would also discourage corruption.

The marked increase in salaries would also be higher than that awarded to Nationalist ministers in 2008, when the Gonzi cabinet unilaterally decided to increase ministerial allowances and pay them a higher MP's honorarium.