The Pisas III Cabinet violates our Constitutional Arrangements and harms civil servants to fix the vacation payments of ministers and parliamentarians!
The MAN-PIN faction expresses deep concern about the improper and misleading way in which the Pisas III Cabinet pushed through vacation payments for parliamentarians and ministers within the amendment of the vacation allowance for public employees. The cabinet attempted to bypass the mandatory procedures required by the Constitutional Arrangements in order to increase the vacation pay of parliamentarians and ministers without advice from the Council of Advice.
Although MAN-PIN already made this clear during the parliamentary debate, the blue party continues to insist that the increase in vacation allowance for public employees is justified. However, the increase in vacation pay for ministers and parliamentarians must be postponed until the next parliament takes office in 2029.
It appears that the government is trying to throw a “fastball” at parliament by slipping the changes into the law so that ministers and parliamentarians can increase their own vacation pay at the same time as public employees. By combining the three legislative changes, the government forces a requirement of a 2/3 majority in parliament — because Article 52 of the Constitutional Arrangements demands it.
The amendment to the “Regulation on Vacation and Exemption from Service for Civil Servants”, which benefits public employees, does not require such a majority. With 11 votes, the law for civil servants can pass. In this case, the amendment regarding vacation pay must be voted on by all members present.
MAN-PIN formally proposed that the laws regarding the vacation payments for ministers and parliamentarians be separated from those for public employees, contract workers, laborers, and equivalent categories. At the same time, the government can send the laws concerning ministers and parliamentarians to the Council of Advice to ensure transparency, good governance, and integrity in the legislative process.
Our faction remains firm: increases for ministers and parliamentarians must not take effect during this parliamentary term. The government has enough time to follow the procedure as required by law. Furthermore, no benefits for ministers or parliamentarians may be raised while the AOV for our elderly is not even indexed.
MAN-PIN will continue to closely monitor the developments and calls on the government to stay on the path of clarity, respect formal procedures, and put the interests of the people first.
Press release: MAN-PIN