Voice-SD to Propose Freeze on Minister's Allowances (2)

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. Deputy Prime Minister and Smer-SD member Robert Kalinak described claims that government members' incomes are rising this year as untrue. He stated that ministers' basic salaries remain frozen. While lump-sum allowances are increasing due to growth in the average salary, higher taxation on top earners has also risen significantly as part of fiscal consolidation. "Ministers are taxed much more heavily than ordinary citizens precisely because they fall into a higher-income bracket. When any minister looks at their payslip today, they know that their salary has effectively been reduced by between €300 and €400 [per month]. This means that even if allowances rise by €300, their overall income is lower than last year. So the question of whether salaries should be frozen this year is answered — yes, in fact they will be lower," argued Kalinak. He was responding on behalf of the absent Prime Minister Robert Fico to a question from opposition MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia' – For the People), who asked whether it was acceptable for ministers' salaries to rise by around €300 and the prime minister's by €400 during a period of fiscal consolidation. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final three paragraphs mf/df