Majlis staff allowance to be increased instead of salary increment

The Majlis Secretariat has said today that it needs an additional MVR 4.6 million to put in effect an increment to staff earnings. The Secretariat presented the Parliament's General Purpose Committee on with a revised budget proposal, this time including the desired increments to staff salaries. Secretary General Fathimath Niusha stated that the parliament secretariat had decided to increase various allowances provided instead of a direct increment of the basic salary. She explained that they had come to this decision because majlis staff basic salaries are relatively high compared to other state entities, and because an increment to the salary itself would require an increase in allocations for pension and overtime. She noted that for these reasons, an increase to the basic salaries may be a burden on the budget. The proposed changes to the allowance include; - Changing the current "Parliament Service" allowance of MVR 200 on every day attended to an attendance allowance - Giving 20 percent of the basic salary as "Parliamentary Service Allowance" - Allowance for holders of Masters' Certificates to be increased from MVR 1500 to MVR 2000 - Allowance for holders of Degree Certificates to be increased from MVR 1000 to MVR 1500 - Allowance for holders of Diploma Certificates to be increased from MVR 700 to MVR 1000 - Allowance for holders of Technical Certificates to be increased from MVR 500 to MVR 700 The parliament has previously proposed an estimated budget of MVR 186 million. Now, with the inclusion of allowance increments, the number may rise to approximately MVR 190 million.