Voice-SD to Propose Freeze on Minister's Allowances

Bratislava, 19 March (TASR) – Coalition party Voice-SD will propose freezing lump-sum allowances for members of the government, said Labour Minister and Voice-SD vice-chair Erik Tomas during Question Time in Parliament on Thursday. He was responding to a repeated question from several opposition MPs to government members regarding whether they consider an increase in their allowances during fiscal consolidation to be moral and whether they plan to waive them. "I don't consider it right, and so Voice-SD will submit a resolution to the government proposing a freeze on lump-sum allowances. I'm not following the issue in detail, but if I have correct information, the increased allowances should be reflected in April salaries. If that is the case, there is still some time. In any case, Voice-SD will, in line with political agreements within the governing coalition, propose freezing these allowances at a government session," said Tomas. A similar view was expressed by Education Minister and Voice-SD vice-chair Tomas Drucker. "Nothing has happened yet, because nothing has taken effect. We've said that when it does, and when it's clear how the average salary — from which these matters are derived — will look, we'll act,” he emphasised. mf/df