‘Where’s my pay cut?’
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she’s ‘‘frustrated’’ that pay cuts for ministers and state sector heads are yet to begin.
Ardern in April promised she would take a six-month 20 per cent pay cut, along with ministers and public sector heads, a symbolic gesture as workers suffered the effects of an economic recession caused by the coronavirus crisis.
Two months later, the pay cuts have not begun. Ardern yesterday said Parliament had passed the law to bring about the pay cuts in May, and they were now waiting for the Remuneration Authority to make it happen.
‘‘They will still be happening, and they will still apply for six months. What I am frustrated by is how long it’s taken ... That is frustrating, but regardless ... it will last for six months,’’ she said.
The authority’s chair, Dame Fran Wilde, said it took Parliament two months to pass the legislation required for the pay cuts and, within four weeks after that, the authority’s three parttime staffers made the decisions of pay cuts for ‘‘several 100’’ state sector staff.
‘‘There has been absolutely no delay on the part of the Remuneration Authority. This was done very fast,’’ she said.
Wilde said the authority had to make sure the pay cuts were set fairly, so someone would not end up on higher pay than a person who was usually paid less.
‘‘We had to do all of that testings of the numbers.
‘‘We then had written it up in legal form, we had sent it to Parliamentary Council Office, who had also done their checking – which takes a little while – and
then we signed it and it was gazetted. And that all happened in less than four weeks.’’
The pay cuts would begin on July 9, Wilde said.
The further delay was so the cuts could begin at the start of a payroll cycle at Parliament.
Ardern’s 20 per cent pay cut will be worth about $47,000 over the six months.
Other MPs will receive a 10 per cent pay cut, about $8000 over the six months.
ACT leader David Seymour said a 10 per cent pay cut for MPs was a ‘‘pathetic outcome’’.
‘‘The legislation I proposed, and which the Government vetoed twice, would have cut all MPs’ pay by 20 per cent for six months.
‘‘I’ve said all along that all MPs should take a 20 per cent pay cut for six months. That’s what I’ll be doing ... I’ll be asking the public which organisation I should donate the remaining part of my salary to.’’
He said it was critical for MPs to display solidarity with people making sacrifices.
‘‘If we were talking about increasing MPs’ pay, it would have happened by now,’’ Seymour said.