Ministers' pay lags behind salary benchmarks: PM
DECLINING to reveal exactly how much each cabinet minister is paid,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday shot down the suggestion
that ministers who hold multiple portfolios are paid multiple
salaries.
.
In a written response to a question from Non-Constituency MP Steve
Chia, Mr Lee said: "They receive only one salary based on the
salary grade they are at."
.
But the Ministry of Finance which publishes the manpower
expenditure for each ministry's political appointment holders in
the budget book annually "does not intend to disclose the
salaries" of individual cabinet ministers, he added.
.
Mr Chia, who is also the Secretary-General of the National
Solidarity Party, had tabled a question on this, asking for the
ministers' pay for FY2005 to be disclosed in bracket ranges of
$250,000. He also asked how this salary compensation compares with
the last disclosed figures in 2000.
.
To this, Mr Lee, who is also the Finance Minister, said: "The
framework for setting ministerial salaries and the salary
benchmarks were debated openly in Parliament when they were first
formulated in 1994 and again in 2000 when they were revised."
.
The formula for the ministerial salary benchmark has remained
unchanged since the last revision in 2000, he said.
.
"The benchmark is pegged to two-thirds of the income of the 24th
highest earner (median) among a group comprising the top eight
earners from six professions (bankers, accountants, engineers,
lawyers, MNCs amd local manufacturers)," Mr Lee said, adding that
ministers took wage cuts in November 2001 and July 2003.
.
Although these cuts were restored in July 2004 and January 2005 to
pre-Nov 2001 levels, ministerial salaries have "lagged behind" the
salary benchmarks compared to the year 2000, he added.
DECLINING to reveal exactly how much each cabinet minister is paid,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday shot down the suggestion
that ministers who hold multiple portfolios are paid multiple
salaries.
.
In a written response to a question from Non-Constituency MP Steve
Chia, Mr Lee said: "They receive only one salary based on the
salary grade they are at."
.
But the Ministry of Finance which publishes the manpower
expenditure for each ministry's political appointment holders in
the budget book annually "does not intend to disclose the
salaries" of individual cabinet ministers, he added.
.
Mr Chia, who is also the Secretary-General of the National
Solidarity Party, had tabled a question on this, asking for the
ministers' pay for FY2005 to be disclosed in bracket ranges of
$250,000. He also asked how this salary compensation compares with
the last disclosed figures in 2000.
.
To this, Mr Lee, who is also the Finance Minister, said: "The
framework for setting ministerial salaries and the salary
benchmarks were debated openly in Parliament when they were first
formulated in 1994 and again in 2000 when they were revised."
.
The formula for the ministerial salary benchmark has remained
unchanged since the last revision in 2000, he said.
.
"The benchmark is pegged to two-thirds of the income of the 24th
highest earner (median) among a group comprising the top eight
earners from six professions (bankers, accountants, engineers,
lawyers, MNCs amd local manufacturers)," Mr Lee said, adding that
ministers took wage cuts in November 2001 and July 2003.
.
Although these cuts were restored in July 2004 and January 2005 to
pre-Nov 2001 levels, ministerial salaries have "lagged behind" the
salary benchmarks compared to the year 2000, he added. DECLINING to
reveal exactly how much each cabinet minister is paid, Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday shot down the suggestion that
ministers who hold multiple portfolios are paid multiple
salaries.
.
In a written response to a question from Non-Constituency MP Steve
Chia, Mr Lee said: "They receive only one salary based on the
salary grade they are at."
.
But the Ministry of Finance which publishes the manpower
expenditure for each ministry's political appointment holders in
the budget book annually "does not intend to disclose the
salaries" of individual cabinet ministers, he added.
.
Mr Chia, who is also the Secretary-General of the National
Solidarity Party, had tabled a question on this, asking for the
ministers' pay for FY2005 to be disclosed in bracket ranges of
$250,000. He also asked how this salary compensation compares with
the last disclosed figures in 2000.
.
To this, Mr Lee, who is also the Finance Minister, said: "The
framework for setting ministerial salaries and the salary
benchmarks were debated openly in Parliament when they were first
formulated in 1994 and again in 2000 when they were revised."
.
The formula for the ministerial salary benchmark has remained
unchanged since the last revision in 2000, he said.
.
"The benchmark is pegged to two-thirds of the income of the 24th
highest earner (median) among a group comprising the top eight
earners from six professions (bankers, accountants, engineers,
lawyers, MNCs amd local manufacturers)," Mr Lee said, adding that
ministers took wage cuts in November 2001 and July 2003.
.
Although these cuts were restored in July 2004 and January 2005 to
pre-Nov 2001 levels, ministerial salaries have "lagged behind" the
salary benchmarks compared to the year 2000, he added. DECLINING to
reveal exactly how much each cabinet minister is paid, Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday shot down the suggestion that
ministers who hold multiple portfolios are paid multiple
salaries.
.
In a written response to a question from Non-Constituency MP Steve
Chia, Mr Lee said: "They receive only one salary based on the
salary grade they are at."
.
But the Ministry of Finance which publishes the manpower
expenditure for each ministry's political appointment holders in
the budget book annually "does not intend to disclose the
salaries" of individual cabinet ministers, he added.
.
Mr Chia, who is also the Secretary-General of the National
Solidarity Party, had tabled a question on this, asking for the
ministers' pay for FY2005 to be disclosed in bracket ranges of
$250,000. He also asked how this salary compensation compares with
the last disclosed figures in 2000.
.
To this, Mr Lee, who is also the Finance Minister, said: "The
framework for setting ministerial salaries and the salary
benchmarks were debated openly in Parliament when they were first
formulated in 1994 and again in 2000 when they were revised."
.
The formula for the ministerial salary benchmark has remained
unchanged since the last revision in 2000, he said.
.
"The benchmark is pegged to two-thirds of the income of the 24th
highest earner (median) among a group comprising the top eight
earners from six professions (bankers, accountants, engineers,
lawyers, MNCs amd local manufacturers)," Mr Lee said, adding that
ministers took wage cuts in November 2001 and July 2003.
.
Although these cuts were restored in July 2004 and January 2005 to
pre-Nov 2001 levels, ministerial salaries have "lagged behind" the
salary benchmarks compared to the year 2000, he added.
