Opposition leader Joseph Muscat has not only remained without his €19,100 MP’s honorarium – which he had pledged to charity – but he has also been denied due increases to his salary and duty allowance.
In May 2008, the Cabinet decided upon a number of changes to the salary structures of the various constitutional roles.
But while the changes which benefited the Prime Minister, ministers, parliamentary secretaries and Speaker Louis Galea were implemented immediately, the Opposition leader was kept in the dark and on the old pay package.
And when Michael Frendo replaced Dr Galea in April 2010 he was inexplicably placed on the old regime too.
According to the original 2008 proposals, Dr Muscat should have been entitled to more than €171,000 over and above his actual salary during a five-year legislature.
Part of this is the yearly honorarium which the Cabinet had decided to increase to €26,700 from €19,100.
The Speaker and Cabinet members had begun receiving this sum since May 2008 but were in January asked to refund the difference when an outraged public found out about the increase only two and a half years later. Government MPs were also livid when they found out that their own increase was only announced publicly at a time when people were being asked to make sacrifices in difficult economic times, while members of the Cabinet had already pocketed theirs.
Before the partial refund, Dr Muscat had promised to give his honorarium to charity, arguing that people did not deserve to get paid twice for the same job.
Last week The Times revealed that while ministers and parliamentary secretaries were allowed to continue receiving their €19,100 honorarium, Dr Muscat’s never materialised.
At first the government refused to explain why but later an OPM spokesman said it was because no agreement was reached during the House Business Committee discussions. These meetings were organised after the ministers’ partial refund, to discuss a way forward.
The government had then placed a lid on the House Business Committee discussions because the Labour Party wanted to widen the discussions to the pay packets of ministers and parliamentary secretaries. The government, on the other hand, wanted the discussion to focus on the salaries of MPs.
But the government now claims that, besides the increases to the honorarium rate, a number of other issues were put on hold, including the salaries of the Speaker and the Opposition leader. This has left substantial discrepancies in the previously similar pay packets of constitutional roles.
According to the May 5, 2008 proposals, the Speaker and the Opposition Leader should be paid 105 per cent of the civil service’s pay Scale One, rather than 100 per cent, to bring them in line with parliamentary secretaries.
However, both the Speaker and the Opposition leader have remained on 100 per cent.
Besides this, Dr Muscat is entitled to an increased duty allowance of 20 per cent of his salary, which adds up to €8,031 yearly. However, he only receives €2,329.
Meanwhile, former Speaker Louis Galea had received both the increased pay and the duty allowance. Interestingly, he has since been told to refund not only the difference in his honorarium but also the rise of his basic salary.
Meanwhile, Dr Frendo, who replaced him in April last year, was placed on the old package. The government says he did not keep his honorarium because, unlike Dr Galea, Dr Frendo opted to retain his private practice. A spokesman for the OPM made the same argument to justify why Dr Frendo is not eligible to the an increased duty allowance.
But it is still unclear why Dr Frendo was placed on 100 per cent of Scale One while his predecessor received 105 per cent and was later asked to refund the difference.
When asked, an OPM spokesman said: “In January the Speaker’s package was among the issues referred to the House Business Committee. As already stated, no agreement has been reached.”
As The Times wrote last week, the Opposition Leader is the only MP who is now not entitled to an honorarium – while Dr Frendo does not receive his, he would be entitled to it had he not kept his private practice.
Amid all this confusion, the government has still failed to submit a clear breakdown of the current salaries of politicians and how they changed since 2008. Even the Parliament failed to answer questions by The Times about the current pay packets of the Opposition leader and the Speaker.
Dr Muscat yesterday addressed the press to mark the third anniversary of the Cabinet meeting, saying he did not want the money for himself and always intended to give any increase to charity.
Describing the government’s latest excuses as “petty”, he said: “Not only was I never informed, and never received the money, but we find ourselves in the ridiculous position that the Prime Minister, ministers and Parliamentary secretaries are still taking this €500 weekly raise while the public got a raise of €1.16 (in cost of living adjustment).”