Despite an announcement in Legislative Assembly in March that legislators would take significant pay-cuts, those salary reductions have not happened and when they do, they will be much less than originally stated.

On 1 March, Premier McKeeva Bush announced in the House that members of the Legislative Assembly would take 20 per cent pay cuts and that he would take a 30 per cent decrease in salary as a way of leading by example in the government’s effort to reduce operating costs.

On Wednesday, however, Mr. Bush said legislators would only take a 3.2 per cent pay cut – the same as civil servants – beginning 1 July, the start of the next financial year. He said he would take a 5 per cent pay cut at the same time.

In a statement issued by Press Secretary Charles Glidden to queries from the Caymanian Compass, the proposed MLA salary cuts were linked to proposed salary cuts for the civil service.

“The premier had proposed graduated salary cuts for the civil service of up to 5 per cent; up to 10 per cent and up to 15 per cent, depending on the salary level,” the statement said. “The premier had also proposed salary cuts for MLAs of 20 per cent and a salary cut of 30 per cent for the premier.

“The proposed civil service salary cuts were not agreed to.”

The pay cut issue caused a ruckus on the Cayman Crosstalk radio talk show Wednesday morning when Arden McLean, who was a guest on the show, angrily reacted to comments from Mr. Bush, who had called in to explain why the higher pay cuts were not implemented.

“He said MLAs had rejected his position,” Mr. McLean said afterwards. “It must have been his backbench supporters because I checked with other MLAs and they said they hadn’t rejected anything.”

However, it was when Mr. Bush suggested that Mr. McLean had himself rejected the pay cut that the fireworks began.

“I called him a liar on public radio,” Mr. McLean said. “I called him a coward. I called him a liar and I will do that again any day he encroaches on my integrity. I have said many times you can question my ability, but not my integrity.”

Mr. McLean adamantly restated he had never had a discussion with Mr. Bush on the subject of the pay cuts.

Opposition MLA Alden McLaughlin agreed.

“The government has never discussed this with us; never, never, never,” he said.

Mr. McLaughlin said the opposition didn’t say it wouldn’t take a 20 per cent pay cut.

“We will do whatever is reasonable and fair and share whatever pain there is,” he said, adding, however, that the opposition members would only agree to the same pay cut that the government members agreed to.

However, Mr. Bush said he discussed the issue with Mr. McLean and other members of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly lunchroom the day he made the announcement.

“I saw them being upset that day and I gauged their feelings,” he said. “I took a gauge from them twice and they grumbled about it both times.”

Mr. Bush said government backbench MLAs agreed to have their salaries cut by the same amount as the civil servants.

“In the end, the salary cuts for the civil service came to a 3.2 per cent reduction and this is the same amount that MLA salaries will be reduced by with the exception of the premier,” Wednesday’s statement said. “The premier’s salary will be cut by 5 per cent.”