Mayors seem reluctant to let go of their surprise pay rise, even though a number of Labour MPs have followed their leader’s example by giving up their controversial wage increase in solidarity with struggling families.
It was revealed on Sunday that mayors would also benefit from the rise in MP’s honoraria and are set to receive an average of €4,000 extra per year, depending on the size of their council.
When asked whether the Labour Party was also expecting mayors to renounce their wage rise, a spokesman reiterated what was said to MPs: “Everyone must make their own decisions and everyone is responsible for his or her own decision.”
The spokesman added: “If it is not a time for tax cuts but for a rise in gas, petrol and diesel prices and in social security tax, than it is certainly not a time for the Prime Minister and Cabinet members to get a second salary with a rise of €600 a week.”
Byron Camilleri, the young and recently-appointed Labour mayor of Fgura, said he was still a student and his only income was €600 a month he received as mayor. Mayors, he added, were practically “exploited” considering how many hours they put in for the little income they received.
However, he agreed with his party’s leader it was unfair to give politicians a rise when asking the people to make sacrifices.
He also did not like the way the rises were only disclosed now through parliamentary questions despite having been decided upon two and a half years ago.
“I have not yet decided whether I will renounce it but I might, especially if there is a fund set up for people in need,” he said.
Marsa mayor Francis Debono, also Labour, agreed mayors were not paid enough for their contribution but added: “We do not do it for the money”.
He said mayors had been kept in the dark about the rise and had not yet heard anything officially. Only then would he be able to evaluate whether to renounce his pay rise or not.
“I will need to consult with other mayors,” he said.
Asked if he felt party leader Joseph Muscat had done the right thing by renouncing his extra salary, Mr Debono said; “If he felt he had to do that, he did the right thing.”
Kalkara mayor Michael Cohen, who is also president of the Local Councils Association, insisted there were separate issues that should not be confused with one another. Mayors deserved to be paid more, he said, and this had nothing to do with the second salaries Cabinet members had given themselves.
He said he was still awaiting official confirmation of the pay rise reported in the newspapers, adding he would have to receive the money before he could renounce it.
Independent Floriana mayor Nigel Holland said he saw nothing wrong in giving a rise to mayors but said it was more important to restructure the system to allow for full-time rather than only part-time mayors.
Nationalist Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar, who works at the office of the Prime Minister, said the pay rise showed “trust in the work of local councils” and suggested councillors too should be given something extra.
He said he disagreed with the arguments made by the Labour Party that the rises were given at the wrong time because this actually coincided with ongoing reform within the local councils, an essential and integral part of communities.
The Times