Mr R. Uteem (First Member for Port Louis South & Port Louis Central): Thank you, Madam Speaker. May I start by congratulating all hon. Members on their elections and all office bearers on their elections and also congratulate the hon. Minister on his maiden speech. Madam Speaker, every year, we have the Additional Remuneration Bill and every year the Government comes and gives you the explanation about why it is increasing the salary by so much and we, in the opposition, we criticise that figure and we ask them to adjust it, to take into consideration the fact that people are getting poorer in this country. And I am glad today to hear the hon. Minister of Finance and also the hon. Minister of Labour talk about new factors that are being taken into consideration today to determine the additional remuneration. We are not talking just about compensation for increase in the cost of living, we are also talking about reducing the gap between the poor and the rich and it is a welcome step. But where I don’t agree at all is when the hon. Minister of Finance try to come and put the blame exclusively on Mr Sithanen. We are talking about the method of calculating the compensation and as the hon. Leader of the Opposition just said we need to know whether it is a one-off method of calculation or this is the policy that will continue again and again in the Government. So, let me quote what hon. Pravind Jugnauth, the then Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Development said in 2010, when addressing the House on the Bill. He laid out basically the factors that a Government, should take into consideration determining compensation and I quote – “Salary compensation under the Tripartite Mechanism for a particular financial year has always been paid with respect to the rise in the cost of living which is measured by the rate of inflation and also with regard to other economic factors that have been prevailing for the past year.” So, the first criteria we need to look at is inflation rate. Then, the second thing that has guided all Government throughout is that ‘the maximum percentage of salary compensation has always applied to those workers at the lowest rung of the ladder’. Here, the Government has decided to get rid of the maximum eligibility ceiling. Everybody across the board except for part-time workers will get a flat rate of Rs600 which obviously would mean a lower percentage increase for those earning above Rs15 000. Third and I quote the hon. Pravind Jugnauth – “No Government since independence has ever given any compensation for what we call rattrapage in terms of inflation that is not accounted for in previous years.” And I listened very carefully, neither did the hon. Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Training nor did the hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development talk about rattrapage, compensation for previous loss in cost of living because this is exactly what the hon. Pravind Jugnauth said we can’t do. Government is not going to compensate for rattrapage and then, he went on, it is very important to quote this - “Standing and saying that we would wish that workers be compensated is easy, but one must always, especially when you are in a position of responsibility, take into account all the factors that prevail, particularly the economic factors, and also what the country can afford, in order to try to strike the right balance and compensate the workers of this country, whilst creating also, at the same time, the necessary conditions for economic growth.” So, whenever we, in the Opposition, were saying that we needed more compensation not just to compensate for cost of living, but also rattrapage and to reduce the Gini inequality, this is what hon. Jugnauth said when he was in Government and it is not just him. And that is why I find it very unfair to blame only Mr Sithanen, because in 2012, yes, when hon. Xavier Duval was also… (Interruptions) Madam Speaker: Order! Mr Uteem: When hon. Xavier Duval was also the Minister of Finance… (Interruptions) Madam Speaker: Order! No cross talking, please! Mr Uteem: …and we asked for an increase to compensate for loss of cost of living, when we asked for compensation to fill the gap of inequality, this is what the hon. Xavier Duval, then Minister of Finance in 2012 said - “What is important, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, is above all, to avoid what these gentlemen were not able to avoid, that is, massive unemployment in Mauritius. If there is some inflation, there will be compensation. But if you lose job, usually it is gone forever. And this is the whole issue also concerning monetary policy.” So, refusal to increase wage because it was going to create unemployment. And then he goes on, another reason - “Not to mention, of course, that we have this international crisis.” So, you can’t give more compensation. “We have very little room to spare.” And then, the third reason: productivity. (Interruptions) Madam Speaker: Order! Let the hon. Member talk! Mr Uteem: And I quote - “Productivity remains an issue in this country and we must get the population to understand that huge increases in wages can only come with huge increases in productivity.” So, the reasons have always been, we are compensating for increased cost of living, we can’t pay more, there is unemployment, there is international crisis, there is no productivity. So, I am very glad that today I heard the hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development talk a language which he knows reflects the feelings of the MMM because he was then… (Interruptions) Member of the MMM … (Interruptions) and I will quote… Madam Speaker: Order! Hon. Members, can you allow the hon. Member to talk! (Interruptions) Hon. Members, I am on my feet! Can you allow the hon. Member to talk, please! Mr Uteem: And I will quote what we said in 2010. I will quote what we said in 2010 in answer to the remark of hon. Pravind Jugnauth. This is what we said, and I quote - “An increase in salary should bear in mind that it should not only compensate for the rise in the cost of living, but also to try, as far as possible, in the name of social justice to reduce the income inequality and the gap between the rich and the poor.” We are not changing guns from our shoulders. In 2010 when you were in Government, when hon. Pravind Jugnauth was the Minister of Finance or when hon. Xavier Duval was Minister of Finance, we, on this side of the House, were always saying that for us compensation should be a social justice to reduce the income inequality and the gap between the rich and the poor. That was in 2010. So, of course, we are… (Interruptions) We are very happy. (Interruptions) Madam Speaker: Hon. Henry, can you allow the hon. Member to talk! (Interruptions) Hon. Henry! I am on my feet! Okay, please proceed! Mr Uteem: So, of course, we welcome the decision to increase the salary by Rs600 because we, ourselves, we are in favour of reducing the Gini gap. The hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development mentioned it and it is a fact, and it is a very disturbing fact according to the household budget survey of 2012 and I quote - “Income inequality increased between 2006/07 and 2012. The share of total income going to the 20% of households at the lower end of the income range decreased from 6.1% in 2006/07 to 5.4% in 2012. On the other hand, the share of the upper 20% of households increased from 45.6% to 47.4%. The rise in income inequality is confirmed by an increase in the Gini coefficient from 0.388 in 2006/07 to 0.413 in 2012.” So, we are very much aware that the income gap since 2006/2007 has been increasing. We are all aware that people are getting poorer, that there is not only absolute poverty, but also relative poverty and we all in our Constituency have these poches de pauvreté where people are struggling to make ends meet. So, that is why we welcome this increase of Rs600. But, at the same time, Madam Speaker, as a responsible Opposition we have to ask questions. We have to ask questions about the financing of this measure which inevitably will have an impact on the economy and I am glad that the hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development mentioned that there will be no new taxes, but, again, I heard him say on the poor only. So, I don’t know if it means that some people other than the poor will have to fork out to pay for that increase in compensation. We know also - and I am glad that the hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development mentioned it - that there are certain small and medium enterprises that are struggling and for whom an increase in the wage Bill has a significant impact on their cash flow especially and probably on their long-term income and we expect on this side of the House when the budget will come for the hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development to come and propose measure to counteract this increase in their salary Bill and measures to increase productivity, measures to increase competitiveness, measures to make the SME, which I agree totally with the hon. Minister, is and should be the backbone of our economy and should be the real engine of growth and engine for job creation. We also would like to know what are the measures which the Government intends to take to absorb this excess liquidity. We know that the price - as the hon. Minister said we are lucky - of the petroleum products is going down, but also the price of basic commodities is going down in the world market. So, we hope and we expect that the increase in the wage Bill will not have undue inflationary pressure but, again, we hope to hear from the hon. Minister and the Governor of the Central Bank what monetary policies would be introduced to mop up any excess liquidity that is being caused by the increase in pension and increase in compensation. So, Madam Speaker, as we said, on this side of the House, we welcome the decision to increase the pension and to increase the wages by Rs600 and on this side of the House, we would wait for the budget in order to assess what measures the Government is going to take so that this increase doesn’t have a negative impact on our economy. Thank you.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 14:47:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015