Independent Group proposes an independent pay commission to reform public sector salaries and end separate MP pay systems
HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS – The Leader of the Independent Group in Parliament, Hon. Peter Shanel Agovaka, today called for a fundamental overhaul of how salaries and remuneration are determined across the public sector, saying the current debate over Members of Parliament’s salary increase should be used to deliver lasting reforms that benefit all Solomon Islanders, not just politicians.
The Leader said that while he is prepared to forgo any increase in his parliamentary salary, symbolic gestures alone will not address the deeper structural problems affecting public sector remuneration.
“I am prepared to forgo any increase in my salary as a Member of Parliament. But talk is cheap. Refusing a pay rise on its own will not improve the wages of our teachers, nurses, police officers, public servants and the thousands of hardworking Solomon Islanders struggling with the rising cost of living.”
He said the issue should not be reduced to political point-scoring or populist rhetoric.
“This debate deserves a serious national conversation. The real question is not whether Members of Parliament should accept a pay rise. The real question is whether Solomon Islands has a fair, transparent and independent system for determining remuneration across the entire public sector.”
The Independent Group is therefore calling on the Prime Minister to establish a bipartisan parliamentary committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the country’s remuneration framework.
The committee should recommend the establishment of a National Wages and Remuneration Commission—an independent constitutional body responsible for determining salaries and remuneration for the public service and constitutional office holders based on objective, transparent and nationally consistent criteria.
The Leader also supported the call for the abolition of the existing Parliamentary Entitlements Commission, arguing that Members of Parliament should no longer have a separate remuneration system disconnected from the wider public sector.
“There should not be one system for politicians and another for everyone else. Our remuneration framework must reflect fairness, transparency, fiscal responsibility and the national interest.”
The proposed National Wages and Remuneration Commission would independently review remuneration by considering economic growth, inflation, productivity, affordability, labour market conditions, and the need to attract and retain qualified public servants.
Such a system would remove the perception that politicians receive preferential treatment, strengthen public confidence in government institutions, and ensure remuneration decisions are made independently and consistently across the public sector.
The Independent Group believes the current debate presents an opportunity to modernise Solomon Islands’ remuneration framework for the benefit of the entire nation, rather than focusing solely on parliamentarians.
The Leader says it is time for the Government to turn its commitment to accountability into meaningful reform.
“If the GREAT Coalition is genuinely committed to fairness, accountability and good governance, then let us work together on bipartisan reforms that benefit every public servant, not just Members of Parliament.
“If the Government chooses not to act, the Independent Group will. We will introduce a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Constitution to establish a National Wages and Remuneration Commission and replace the Parliamentary Entitlements Commission with an independent constitutional framework that serves the interests of the entire nation.”
Leader of the Independent Group Press Release
