The Minister of Finance, is clarifying statements made in the media regarding the Government’s decision on the 117th Report of the Salaries Review Commission.
Minister Imbert said that it must be emphasised that the 117th SRC Report is the result of a job evaluation exercise that has taken over a decade to complete, and it is not a general or ordinary review of terms and conditions of employment of offices under the purview of the SRC.
Via release he noted that the Government made it clear that it is of the view that there are a number of serious anomalies in the Report, such as the recommendation that the salaries of Judges of the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago be maintained at the same levels as in the last report of the SRC, i.e. that there be no increases for Judges of the High Court and the Court of Appeal since the 98th SRC Report was approved (with a reservation on transport facilities) in 2013, over 10 years ago.
He said another serious anomaly is that the SRC has recommended that the salaries of Industrial Court Judges be reduced, while there are some surprising increases such as the recommended 60% increase in the compensation package of the Leader of the Opposition.
In making his statement on the Government’s decision to send the 117 th Report back to the SRC with a list of anomalies for its review, the Minister of Finance said he did not assert, or suggest, as declared in the headline of an article published on March 7, 2024, in the Newsday: “No pay rise for PM – Government rejects ‘irrational’ salary proposals for MPs, officials”.
Specifically, the Minister of Finance said he did not say or even imply that the Government has rejected the entire 117 th SRC Report, or all its recommendations, which are the result of a 10-year Job Evaluation Exercise.
In fact, he maintained that the only increase for an MP mentioned in the Minister’s statement was that of the Leader of the Opposition, and this was highlighted because of the exceptionally large size of the recommended increase in salary for that position (60%).