Committee passes to reduce salaries set by Parliament to as high as 35%

Parliament Committee on Public Finance has decided to reduce salaries set by the Parliament between 20% to 35%.

The committee passed to reduce salaries for the duration of three months starting May, and hence will be effective through June and July.

As per the decision. 20% will be deducted from salaries between MVR 20,000 and MVR 30,000 while 30% will be deducted from salaries between MVR 30,000 and MVR 60,000. For salaries over MVR 60,000 a total of 35% will be deducted.

The decision comes after Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer submitted it for review to the committee under their attempts to reduce the government expenditure to help ease the financial constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A similar decision was taken back in February regarding the salary reduction, where the period was effective for two months. The latest decision comes after that period had been expired.