The PM can order salary adjustments

THE EDITOR: Prior to the general elections, the Salaries Review Commission (SRC) recommended significant salary increases for various public officials including the Prime Minister, President and MPs. These recommendations were accepted by the previous administration under then prime minister Dr Rowley.

When Kamla Persad-Bissessar swept back into office, many hoped the returning PM would usher in a new era of accountability, transparency and citizen-first leadership. But when it comes to the eyebrow-raising salary hikes for MPs and other public officials, it seems the promises are out and the pastries are in.

Persad-Bissessar says she “doesn’t have the prerogative to revert to previous Government salary structures,” as if decisions around public pay are locked in a vault guarded by invisible bureaucrats. Let’s not sugar-coat this – she does have the prerogative. She just won’t.

The SRC merely recommends increases. The power to accept, reject, delay or even send them back for a second look rests squarely with the cabinet, and at the helm of this cabinet is Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar.

As PM, she holds the authority to address these salary adjustments. The SRC's recommendations require cabinet approval to be implemented. Therefore, the current government can choose to:

Accept the recommendations as is.

Modify the recommendations.

Defer the implementation pending further review.

Reject the recommendations entirely.

Additionally, the government can request the SRC conduct a new review or propose legislative changes to adjust the remuneration structures. She could call for a freeze. She could tell the SRC, “Thanks, but not right now.”

She could even legislate more modest raises in light of ongoing inflation, a stagnant minimum wage and public sector wage negotiations still gasping for air.

Instead, we're met with a “my hands are tied” response. It’s the kind of political posture that says: salary hikes for us, tighten your belt for you.

And let’s not forget, this is the same Persad-Bissessar who, just a year ago, while in Opposition, railed against the very same increases, saying she didn’t support raises for herself or President Kangaloo. So what has changed? Power, it seems, makes the purse strings looser and the memory shorter.

Public sentiment has been critical of the salary increases, especially given the nation's economic challenges. Trade unions and civil society groups have expressed dissatisfaction, highlighting the disparity between increases for top officials and modest wages offered to public sector workers.

Citizens are crying out. Gas prices are up, groceries are a gamble and utility bills feel more like rent. Teachers, nurses, and civil servants are still waiting on improved conditions. The optics? Terrible. The substance? Worse.

So let’s put it plainly: given her current position as prime minister, Mrs Persad-Bissessar can reverse or delay these salary hikes. There is no constitutional curse stopping her. It’s not about whether she can. It’s whether she wants to.

ZARA ST CLAIR

Via e-mail