Spain reduces pay of lawmakers, judges

By IANS/EFE,

Madrid : Spain’s lower house of parliament has agreed to cut the pay of the speaker, lawmakers, judges, mayors and municipal officials in an effort to reduce the country’s budget deficit.


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Lawmakers’ pay will be cut by 10 percent while members of parliament who receive supplementary pay by virtue of their roles as legislative officers and party spokespersons will take a 12 percent reduction.

Leaders of all parties in the parliament also agreed Tuesday to suspend all unnecessary official foreign travel in a bid to trim expenses amid an austerity drive.

Mayors and other municipal officials also decided to take a reduction in their salaries, with cuts ranging from 0.25 percent to 15 percent.

The pay cut will also affect judges, it was announced Tuesday, with reductions ranging from 8 percent to 10 percent.

Spain’s judges currently earn around 125,000 euros ($152,687) a year.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero last week approved austerity measures that include a five percent pay cut for public employees, a suspension of cost of living adjustments for most pensioners and an end to payment for the birth or adoption of a child.

The administration hopes the measures will help Spain reduce its budget deficit – now more than 11 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) – to three percent by 2013.

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