Sejm deputies to decide on a pay freeze, President proposes a pay cut

At next Wednesday's session of the Sejm, deputies will effectively decide on whether or not to freeze their own salary levels. The deputies will be voting on a motion to freeze for two years the salaries of senior public sector officials. The salary of a Sejm deputy is set at the same level as that of a deputy Secretary of State, which currently stands at zl.8,980 a month, plus an expense allowance of zl.2,245, of which zl.2,100 is free from tax. However, if a proposal put forward by President Aleksander Kwasniewski is approved by the Commission for Regulation and Deputies' Affairs (RSP), deputies would actually see their pay fall. Their income is currently calculated as a base value of zl.1,603.56 multiplied by a factor of 5.6. Arguing that the positions of Sejm deputy and Secretary of State cannot be compared, the President is proposing that the deputies' salaries should be calculated by multiplying the base value by 4.4. This would result in a zl.1,900 pay cut. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1) A.K.