Premier – ‘We need to attract high-calibre people to politics’ ; OBA Leader – ‘it’s not the right time for a pay raise’
Premier David Burt and Opposition Leader Jarion Richardson disagreed on the necessity of a salary increase for the Legislature. File images
An amendment to increase the salaries of MPs, Ministers and Senators was passed in the House on Friday.
Legislature salaries have not been increased since 2009, and a 10% pay reduction for Cabinet Ministers implemented in 2013 has not been reversed until now.
We estimate that the pay hikes will increase the taxpayer burden of the Legislature by more than a million dollars.
Every individual MP will see a gross salary increase from $56,023 to $73,555.
MPs who are also Cabinet Ministers will see a near-$40K boost, with the Premier getting an extra $$50K-plus, and the Speaker of the House an additional $91K-plus (See our estimates HERE).
As MPs debated the motion on Friday, Premier David Burt cited the need to attract high-calibre people into politics, citing that Government Ministers in the Cayman Islands recieve a $366K package.
He says, “this is probably the reason why they can attract persons to leave the private sector to come into government for a stint.”
He balked somewhat at the Salary Review Board’s suggestion that private sector salaries are not comparable because of the different qualification expectations.
“That may be correct”, the Premier said, “but… we should not be talking about what we have. We should also be talking about where we want to go to, because governance will not get less complex… governance will get more complex.”
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Jarion Richardson said the timing of the pay rise is off.
“There comes a time, every now and again”, Mr Richardson said, “when the House of Assembly must not look inwards at one another, but in fact outwards into the wider community… where parents are, right now, stretching every dollar that they have… to the shops where the dollar does not go as far, and you bring home fewer groceries.”
“So the question is – is this the time to get a pay raise?”
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PLP MP Lawrence Scott compared Legislature salaries to other jobs, saying “an assistant cook… for the government has a starting salary of $62,000 a year…”
“Our recommendation is $73,000. But yet, a senior administrative officer for the Police Service starts at $74,000.”
However, Shadow Finance Minister Dr. Douglas DeCouto suggested that an MP should not necessarily be considered a full-time position.
“We come to work maybe 30 days a year, in the House”, De De Couto said.
“Some will say, ‘I’m out there cutting grass, painting bus stops, making donations’. I would suggest that those functions are better handled by the government, instead of MPs having to pick up the slack when the government is not doing the job it should.”
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