It was insulting for a decision to be taken about a constitutional post and the person holding that position is not informed, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

Dr Muscat, who is also the Opposition leader, said that when the Prime Minister decided to award ministers, parliamentary secretaries, the Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition a double pay 30 months ago, he kept his decision well hidden, including from his own people.

As Opposition leader, he was not informed that he was to start receiving a double pay and he had never received this double pay.

Not only did the Prime Minister not shoulder his decision, he did not even take such a decision at the right time.

And to ensure that the decision remained a secret, the second pay was not from the budget vote dedicated to wages but from another vote.

Dr Muscat pointed out that the Prime Minister was now retaining the basic principle of giving ministers two wages. The only difference was that instead of an increase of €600, they were now getting an increase of €500.

He insisted that his decision remained not to accept a double pay because “I am not for sale”.

The Labour leader said that the way the Prime Minister was trying to fudge the issue was to put MPs in the middle of the situation.

Dr Muscat accused the government of playing with Parliament. He created a position without parliamentary scrutiny and the government had decided on certain matters which should be decided by Parliament.

The Prime Minister was now saying he wanted a clear and unanimous agreement and that he would not go ahead unless this agreement was reached.

But the agreement the Prime Minister wanted was not regarding the double pay given to ministers. He did not want a discussion on that but on the increase to MPs’ honoraria.

The Prime Minister, Dr Muscat said, was asking for the Opposition’s position 30 months late. Had his decision been spurred by conviction, he would not have hidden it.

The opposition, Dr Muscat said, was siding with the people because it understood what they were feeling.

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