Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ decision to decline his 214 per cent salary increase and keep his yearly $9 million pay is binding on all former and future heads of government, the administration has disclosed.

The figure is critical for former prime ministers in particular because their pension is tied to the salary of the current officeholder.

There are three living former prime ministers – PJ Patterson, Portia Simpson Miller, and Bruce Golding.

Information Minister Robert Morgan made the clarification at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday morning.

“It’s not the Andrew Holness salary that has been reduced, it’s that of the prime minister so logically I think it would be binding,” he said, adding that: “I believe that it is binding, both past and present, because pensions are also connected to the salary so past and present and future would be tied to it.”

Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke later echoed the view that Holness’ decision applies to office holders.

“What the prime minister asked is that the scale for the prime minister remains as it is. It is not an individual Andrew Holness decision,” he said.

The allowances attached to old pay will continue to be paid.

On Monday, Holness indicated that he had declined the salary increase to show “symbolically and truthfully” that he understands public backlash over the levels and timing of the increases for members of the political directorate.

The prime minister’s annual salary was slated to jump by 214 per cent, with his pay moving from $9.1 million in 2021 to $25.6 million this April and to $28.6 million on April 1, 2024.

However, the increases for other members of the cabinet, members of parliament, and councillors will be implemented.

Several sector groups, including the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, the Jamaica Council of Churches, and the Jamaica Civil Service Association, have expressed concerns about the increases, many of which exceed 200 per cent.

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