The new government has determined that no government salaries should be higher than that of the prime minister. This policy calls for amendments to the laws governing the state wage council because some officials earn more per month than the PM’s basic monthly salary, which is ISK 935,000 (USD 7,400, EUR 5,500).
Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir. Photo by Geir Ólafsson.
According to mbl.is, this policy is included in the chapter on state finances in the new government agreement, which reads:
“The utmost restraint should be upheld in state operations, honorariums for committees will be lowered or terminated, contracted consultancy will be limited and the policy shall be introduced that no government salary will be higher than the salary of the prime minister. […] Independent limited liability companies in state ownership will be provided with clear regulations on the salary policy and expenses policy in this spirit.”
All elected state representatives and the vast majority of Icelandic officials are represented by the wage council, which determines their wages based on certain terms.
Chairwoman of the council Gudrún Zoëga said that the only director of a state-run institution that has a higher salary than the prime minister is the director of the Landspítali national hospital, who earns ISK 1.4 million (USD 11,100, EUR 8,200) per month.
The president of the Supreme Court has a monthly salary of approximately ISK 970,000 (USD 7,700, EUR 5,700) and possibly a few other officials have similar or slightly higher total salaries than the PM, Zoëga stated.
Zoëga added that if the wage council is to lower the salaries of those officials who earn more than the PM, the Althingi parliament will probably have to amend the laws that apply to the wage council.
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