The National Assembly rejected the National Council’s recommendations on the pay raise of the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament and Constitutional Post Holders. The Members of the Parliament, in fact, want their salary raise to come through at the same time with that of the civil servants, which would be from July this year.
The decision came through while the National Assembly members were discussing recommendations put forth by the National Council, today. Thirty NA members voted ‘Yes’, and three abstained.
The NA members said while they appreciate the recommendations passed by the National Council, pay raise, they said, was proposed and endorsed after much study on the economy.
The Speaker, Jigme Zangpo, said the National Council hasn’t mentioned the exact time frame for the pay hike to be deferred. The National Council had recommended that the Pay raise be deferred given the current economic situation.
The Members of the Opposition said deferring pay raise is not the right method and proposed several other measures.