Parliament approves pay hikes

The 80th SRC report was laid in the House of Representatives by Prime Minister Patrick Manning on Carnival Friday and passed by the Lower House on the same day.

During that sitting, Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the Oppos-ition was considering filing judicial review against the SRC on the basis that it acted irrationally and with "procedural impropriety."

Persad-Bissessar and other Opposition MPs claimed there were grave disparities between the new salaries proposed for parliamentarians who were Government ministers and those proposed for Opposition MPs.

Manning defended the contents of the SRC report and dismissed the arguments of Opposition MPs, indicating that they had the option of having another job whereas Government MPs did not.

Contacted yesterday, Persad-Bissessar told Newsday that the UNC has not taken a decision about taking legal action against the SRC.

She hinted that a decision could be taken on this matter when the UNC’s national executive holds its regular weekly meeting today at Rienzi Complex in Couva.

Persad-Bissessar added that she was unaware as to whether the SRC report would be debated at the next sitting of the Senate on March 7. The UNC deputy leader had said the Opposition hoped to institute legal proceedings before the SRC report was passed by the Senate and became law. The Senate will continue debate on the Pharmacy Board Amendment Bill 2006 when it sits on March 7.

There will be no sittings of either the Lower House or the Senate this week.