The government has decided to revise the proposed MP salaries from January, after information was leaked that they would possibly be getting over EUR 400 more a month each as part of a 10% hike.
Coalition leaders have agreed to look into the issue of salaries of constitutional officials again in September. The proposed hike would cost the country around EUR 16 million more next year. The problem is, MPs salaries are now linked directly to state budget performance.
If the deficit were to grow, MPs salaries would be cut, but given the size of the deficit inherited by the current government in June last year, any further deepening was unlikely, especially as the government tried to save money left, right and centre.
Even so, public servants like fire-fighters and police and customs officers will not see such a handsome hike in their salaries, and might even have to suffer cuts, which is the probable scenario for customs officers, thanks also to the merger of tax and customs collection.