Pritam Singh agrees with one-off 9% wage raise for ministers, but maintains salaries should be pegged to MPs' pay

The Workers' Party (WP) concurs with the "more sober approach" to apply a one-time adjustment of up to nine per cent on the current wages of political office holders , party chief Pritam Singh said on Thursday (Sept 10).

But he maintained the party's 2012 view that the MR4 benchmark figure should be determined based on "a more accessible reference point for the public" — the allowance of a Member of Parliament (MP).

"We take the view that pegging Ministerial salaries to a multiple of an MP's salary which is in turn derived from a public sector appointee is preferred to one that bases Ministerial salaries from a discount to the median salary of the top 1000 earners in Singapore," he said in Parliament.

"Under our 2012 proposal, and with the passage of time, the increases to Minister's total salaries would be more modest."

WP's formula includes a "more modest" variable component composition.

Parliament is debating the revised political salary framework recommended by an independent committee, and the Government's response to it.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said ministerial wages will not be immediately raised from the current $1.1 million to the proposed $1.8 million benchmark for ministers at the lowest-tiered MR4 grade.

Rising to speak on this matter on Thursday, Singh said the opposition party supports the one-off 9 per cent wage raise and sought confirmation that future pay raises will be based solely on performance.

He said WP also agrees with raising the monthly allowances for elected Members of Parliaments (MPs) to $18,500, up from $13,750 , on account of inflation.

Disclose total remuneration for MR4 Ministers: Pritam

Singh also called for the disclosure of the total remuneration for MR4 Ministers, citing how variable components contribute to the final wage.

"The Government disclosed that, from 2013 to 2017, actual variable payments or the bonus to Cabinet Ministers averaged 9.7 months a year, not seven months as assumed by the annual salary norm in the committee's report," he said.

"If this is the case, would it not be useful, for purposes of transparency which is a principle this House agrees to with regard to political salaries, to disclose how actual total remuneration received by MR4 Ministers has compared with the annual salary norm?"

He also noted the committee's proposal to widen salary ranges for ministers, which Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had said would make it easier to attract candidates from the private sector .

"I would caution that this increased flexibility will also contribute to a concomitant increase in public scrutiny about the total annual salaries of individual Ministers, in concert with the principle that salaries ought to be transparent," said Singh.

"It would follow that this information should be published accordingly in a practical format that promotes public understanding of the total salaries."

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

工人党（WP）主席毕丹星周四（9月10日）表示，工人党同意采取“更为审慎的做法”，对政治官员的现行工资进行一次性调整，调整幅度最高可达9%。

但他坚持该党在 2012 年的观点，即 MR4 基准数字应该根据“公众更容易理解的参考点”来确定——即国会议员的津贴。

他在国会表示：“我们认为，部长薪酬与国会议员薪酬的倍数挂钩（而国会议员的薪酬又来自公共部门任命人员），比以新加坡收入最高的 1000 人薪酬中位数的折扣为基础来确定部长薪酬的做法要好。”

“根据我们2012年的提议，随着时间的推移，部长们的总薪资增长幅度将会更加温和。”

WP 的配方包含一个“更为适中”的可变成分组成。

议会正在辩论一个独立委员会建议的修订后的政治薪酬框架，以及政府对此的回应。

周二，总理黄循财表示，部长级官员的薪资不会立即从目前的 110 万美元提高到最低级别 MR4 部长级官员的拟议基准 180 万美元。

辛格周四就此事发言时表示，反对党支持一次性加薪 9%，并要求确认未来的加薪将完全基于绩效。

他表示，工人党也同意将当选国会议员的月津贴从 13,750 美元提高到 18,500 美元，以应对通货膨胀。

普里坦：披露MR4部长们的总薪酬。

辛格还呼吁公开 MR4 部长们的总薪酬，并指出可变部分如何影响最终工资。

他说：“政府披露，从 2013 年到 2017 年，内阁部长实际的浮动工资或奖金平均每年为 9.7 个月，而不是委员会报告中按年薪标准假设的 7 个月。”

“如果情况确实如此，为了提高透明度（这是本院在政治薪酬方面所认同的原则），披露MR4部长们实际获得的总薪酬与年度薪酬标准相比如何，难道不是有益的吗？”

他还提到委员会提出的扩大部长薪酬范围的建议，总理黄循财曾表示，这将更容易吸引私营部门的候选人。

辛格表示：“我提醒大家，这种更大的灵活性也会导致公众对部长个人年度总薪酬的审查力度相应加大，这符合薪酬透明的原则。”

因此，应该以便于公众了解总薪资情况的实用形式公布这些信息。

lim.kewei@asiaone.com