It is a massive pay rise approved by the Cabinet for members of parliament and the Head of State. Some will receive as much as a $20,000 bump on their current salary.

The reasoning behind the increment is to adjust the salaries to match the rising cost of living. It is good to see that the government realises that life in Samoa is not easy. A worker on a minimum wage earning $3 an hour, if working 40 hours a week, makes $120 as gross in a week. This comes to $6,240 annually.

The increment some of the MPs are getting is three times more than what an average person on minimum wage is making. Is it fair for the MPs to consider a pay rise when the minimum wage has not been increased for the last four years?

Most members of the public feel betrayed by this move. They feel that the MPs are just there for themselves. The cost of groceries never seems to go down. The average workers are working like machines to make ends meet.

The pay rise for all civil servants was announced by the Minister of Finance when he tabled his $1.15 billion main budget last month that will be drilled into during House debate this week. 

While our politicians will be nodding their heads in the House in favour of their new salary to be quickly passed, we are thinking about the less fortunate that are counting their $3 tala per hour on the minimum scale.

This begs the question do our leaders deserve a couple of thousand more in their purses? Have our politicians been given excessive work in the last 12 months to justify being paid more?

If our politicians were overworked in the past years while we are in recovery mode from COVID-19 then we can understand the approach taken by Government. 

But before they can accept their new and bigger paychecks and carry on with their lives, we want to remind our leaders of the struggle of the normal citizen and ongoing issues that we’ve had little solution provided to convince us that they are doing a bit more work to justify a fat cheque.

Three years ago, the new government pledged to promote the annual Talomua program which will ensure food security and with hope for cheaper locally produced goods and lower our dependency on imported meats. Fast forward to today the cost of local produce continues to go up and any plans of buying cheap locally-bred chicken is a joke for another day.  

On the streets of Apia, the number of children selling goods late at night is increasing. The buck is passed around with no MP wanting to take responsibility. Crime is up and we have a serious drug situation developing.

Employers in the private sector should also look at increasing salaries and wages in line with the Cost of Living Adjustment done by the government. That would be the honorable thing to do.

In places where the workers’ union is strong, they have negotiated with employers for these adjustments at the end of every year. If the cost of living increases, employees get that increment factored in without negotiations.

Imagine, if that could be made part of every employment contract. If this were the case, people would be living a better life and able to afford a decent living. But right now, the salary increment is limited to the government.

It may be justified because the cost of living has risen but it is not fair for those surviving on minimum wage. It is not fair to those seeking extra hours because they are not earning enough with the regular hours. It is also not fair for those asking employers not to deduct any superannuation from their pay because that would mean a smaller pay packet to take home.

The government has not indicated if the minimum wage increment will be announced any time soon. The government also has not announced any tax-related announcements that would decrease the income tax threshold or help lower food prices.

Four years ago, the minimum wage was increased to $3.00 per hour from $2.30. Of those last four years, the current government has been in power for three.

In the last four years since the minimum wage was last increased, the global inflation rate has doubled and will not go back to the pre-2022 rate even if there is a forecast for inflation to drop. People are earning the same but their purchasing power has become smaller. The amount of food they can buy has reduced.

Times are hard and prices of goods and services keep on going up.