For the first time, a public committee discussed the matter of how much Knesset members should be paid – and found that a large majority of them feel they deserve a raise.
The committee, which includes academics and activists, is supposed to decide how much – and whether – public officials should be paid. The committee was organized last year, after public pressure regarding automatic pay raises public servants receive.
The deadline for one of those raises is approaching, and MK Shimon Solomon (Yesh Atid) circulated a petition for MKs to state that they were willing to forego a raise this year. Salomon presented the petition before the committee – with only 37 signatures. Solomon told the committee that of the 120 Knesset members, 83 refused to sign the petition.
Among those who signed were all Yesh Atid MKs, as well as MKs from Likud Beiteinu, Hatnua, Shas, and Labor. Solomon said Meretz MKs supported the petition but did not sign because they are working on legislation to prevent automatic increases.
Despite the results of the petition, Solomon asked that their salaries be frozen. “It's not a matter of money,” he said. “Obviously freezing our salaries will not solve Israel's economic problems. It's a matter of leadership, which requires a personal example,” he added.