Dutch Second Chamber member Ronald van Raak has joined the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) in urging a pay cut for ministers and parliamentarians (see related story). The main reason is that they earn considerably more than their respective counterparts elsewhere within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
There is no disputing the figures, although everyone knew about these salaries long before country status was achieved per 10-10-10, when the then-Island Council approved them. The fact of the matter is that they are certainly higher than in both Curaçao and Aruba.
However, people should keep in mind that the cost of living and especially housing on those two islands is also significantly lower than locally. That’s why civil servants sent to work here by the former Central Government of the since-dismantled Netherlands Antilles received an extra so-called Windward Islands allowance of no less than 16.5 per cent.
If one were to, for argument’s sake, deduct this percentage from the current reported monthly incomes of ministers and parliamentarians, these would be respectively US $10,150 and $9,645. That is in any case closer to what is paid in Willemstad and Oranjestad as well as The Hague.
Nevertheless, elected representatives and public administrators temporarily reducing their salaries in solidarity with the population suffering the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Irma makes sense. It’s mainly a symbolic gesture, of course, because in total 22 (15 parliamentarians and seven ministers) pay cuts even of 30 per cent are not going to solve the country’s financial problems.
In addition, many believe what they do for that money is really of greater importance than how much they get for it. In other words; it’s first and foremost about the quality of their work.
