Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern
The Prime Minister of New Zealand and her cabinet have cut their pay in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
Over the next six months, PM
Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern and the cabinet ministers would have their pay cut by 20%.
The move announced by the Prime Minister at a press conference on Wednesday, is in solidarity with persons hit by Covid-19 in New Zealand.
The Johns Hopkins University reports that the New Zealand has recorded a total of 1,386 confirmed cases of coronavirus and nine deaths.
Addressing the news conference, she says “As we acknowledge New Zealanders who are reliant on wage subsidies, taking pay cuts, and losing their jobs as a result of Covid-19’s global pandemic, we feel acutely the struggle that many New Zealanders are feeling.”
She noted that “While it won’t shift the government’s overall fiscal position, it is about leadership.”
With the pay cut, her salary is expected to be reduced by about $30,000.
By Melvin Tarlue