Prime Minister Bruce Golding told Jamaicans he will take a 15 percent pay cut as the Caribbean island nation, dependent on troubled industries like tourism and bauxite, grapples with a global economic downturn.
In a national broadcast late Sunday, Golding said he would take a cut in his annual salary from $5.4 million Jamaican dollars ($61,400) to $4.7 million ($53,400) and would relinquish a 7 percent pay increase that was scheduled to start April 1.
He urged parliamentarians to follow his lead and take 10 percent pay cuts.
There was no immediate official response from the opposition PNP, but one high-ranking party member said the prime minister should cut the size of his Cabinet instead of asking lawmakers to cut their salaries.
