Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1158119
Fact 1: Ministers and parlia- mentary secretaries do not receive the honoraria given to MPs. Cabinet members have their salaries pegged to Scale 1 of the civil service. Between March 2008 and December 2011, the Gonzi administration had de- cided that ministers and par- liamentary secretaries should also receive the MPs' hono- raria over and above their salary. This changed in Janu- ary 2012 after Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi reversed the hugely unpopular decision. After the 2013 election the Muscat administration stuck to its pledge that ministers and parliamentary secretar- ies should only get paid their salaries and this remains the situation until today. Fact 2: Ministers and parlia- mentary secretaries have al- ways been entitled to the use of a second car or a €7,000 al- lowance instead. Cabinet members are enti- tled to an official car with driv- er and a fully expensed second car. This has always been the case. However, a minister or parliamentary secretary may decide to forfeit the use of the second car and instead re- ceive a yearly cash allowance of €7,000. The declarations of assets filed by Cabinet mem- bers over the years show that the vast majority of ministers and parliamentary secretar- ies have opted for the cash allowance. The allowance is a flat rate and has remained unchanged since 2008. Fact 3: Ministers and parlia- mentary secretaries receive a duty allowance of €5,823. Cabinet members receive a flat rate allowance of €5,823 every year as part of their remuneration. Prior to the Labour Party coming to power in 2013, the duty al- lowance was set at 20% of the minister's or parliamen- tary secretary's basic salary. This means that duty allow- ances for Cabinet members effectively took a knock down when the Muscat ad- ministration was installed. In 2012, the last full year of the Gonzi administration, the duty allowance for a minis- ter was €8,631 and that of a parliamentary secretary was €8,239, which work out at 20% of the respective basic sala- ries. These amounts dropped to €5,823 for both ministers and parliamentary secretaries in 2013 and the flat rate re- mains in force until today. Fact 4: The only increases to the basic salaries of Cabinet members since 2008 were the result of COLA and civil service collective agreements. The basic salaries of Cabinet members have always been pegged to Scale 1 of the civil service. The Prime Minis- ter receives 125% of Scale 1, a minister receives 110%, a parliamentary secretary 105% and the Opposition leader 100%. The percentages have remained unchanged since 2008. Any increase in the ba- sic salary over the years was due to the annual cost of liv- ing adjustment that is paid to all workers, and collective agreements for the whole of the civil service. In 2017, a new collective agreement for the public ser- vice was signed that provided for wage increases across the board. As a result of the up- ward adjustment in Scale 1, the salaries of Cabinet mem- bers also increased and this is shown as a cash payment in the tables. Fact 5: The Opposition leader has since 2008 always had a flat rate duty allowance and no car allowance. The Opposition leader's du- ty allowance has always been a flat rate, even in the years when the duty allowance for Cabinet members was worked out as a percentage of their basic salary. The allowance has remained unchanged at €2,330 per year since 2008. The Opposition leader is also entitled to an official car with driver but unlike Cabinet members does not have the option to have a second car or 4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 AUGUST 2019 Salary storm: breakdown shows 2008 Lawrence Gonzi's Cabinet agrees to pay minis- ters, parliamentary secretaries and the Opposi- tion leader, the parliamentary honoraria in addi- tion to their ministerial salary. The parliamentary honoraria for Cabinet members was also raised to 70% of Scale 1 from 50%. The duty allowance for Cabinet members is set at 20% of their basic salary. 2010 Then finance minister Tonio Fenech acknowl- edges the changes in remuneration for Cabinet members in a reply to a PQ. The revelation elic- its a strong public outcry at a time when water and electricity tariffs are shooting up and the country is feeling the squeeze of the eco- nomic down turn. Year 2008 2009 2010 Public Service Scale 1 Salary €34,585 €36,362 €38,184 Prime Minister Salary (125% of Scale 1) €43,573 €45,453 €47,730 Honoraria (2008-2011) €24,210 €25,453 €26,729 Allowance €8,715 €9,091 €9,546 Postage Allowance €1,500 €1,500 €1,500 Cash Payment €0 €0 €0 Total €77,997 €81,496 €85,505 Total w/ car allowance €84,997 €88,496 €92,505 Minister Salary (110% of Scale 1) €38,044 €39,998 €42,002 Honoraria (2008-2011) €24,210 €25,453 €26,729 Allowance €7,609 €8,000 €8,400 Postage Allowance (2008-2011) €1,500 €1,500 €1,500 Cash Payment €0 €0 €0 Total €71,362 €74,951 €78,632 Total w/ car allowance €78,362 €81,951 €85,632 Parliamentary Secretary Salary (105% of Scale 1) €36,314 €38,180 €40,093 Honoraria (2008-2011) €24,210 €25,453 €26,729 Allowance €7,263 €7,636 €8,019 Postage Allowance (2008-2011) €1,500 €1,500 €1,500 Cash Payment €0 €0 €0 Total €69,287 €72,770 €76,341 Total w/ car allowance €76,287 €79,770 €83,341 Opposition Leader Salary (Scale 1) €34,585 €36,362 €38,184 Allowance €2,330 €2,330 €2,330 Cash Payment (2017 - onwards) €0 €0 €0 Total €36,915 €38,692 €40,514 Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi tried to fan controversy over a misleading news report that suggested the salary of parliamentary secretaries doubled between 2017 and 2018. KURT SANSONE and YANNICK PACE sift between fact and fiction How ministers' salaries changed Lawrence Gonzi PM (2008-2013)