Labour MPs got to know about a backdated increase to their parliamentary honoraria only yesterday through a parliamentary question, a spokesman for the Labour Party said this afternoon.

He was reacting to a report in this website that the honoraria of MPs has been raised from 50% of pay scale 1 of the civil service, to 70%. The increase is backdated to March 2008 and the increases still have to be issued by the House of Representatives.

The information was given by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech in reply to a question by Labour MP Leo Brincat about ministerial pay.

"This was a Cabinet decision, and the Labour MPs only learnt about if from the parliamentary question," the spokesman said.

Asked if the MPs would accept the increase, the spokesman said this still had to be discussed.

In his reply to Mr Brincat's question, Mr Fenech said that Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries have started to be paid their parliamentary honorarium along with their ministerial salaries, because whereas MPs could keep their jobs and still receive their honorarium, ministers and parliamentary secretaries could not have private jobs.

He also revealed that the honoraria to all MPs had been raised.

The minister said that the Cabinet, on May 5, 2008, decided that the Prime Minister, Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, the Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition would no longer lose the honoraria paid to MPs.

Therefore, as from this legislature, the honoraria was being given to all MPs (even if they were ministers of parliamentary secretaries).

Should the Speaker opt to keep his ordinary job, he would lose the honorarium.

Mr Fenech said the honoraria had also been revised and had risen from 50% of pay scale 1 to 70% (Pay scale one is €38,183). The difference in the honoraria from the old rate is in the process of being implemented and will be backdated to March 12, 2008.