Greek Parliament Speaker Says No MP Salary Cuts

With some Members of Greek Parliament embarrassed they are making big euros while the body has imposed harsh austerity measures on the populace, Parliamentary speaker Evangelos Meimarakis has rejected calls from several lawmakers that the salary for all of them be cut, apart from a previous small reduction.
Meimarakis said the structure for paying MPs is enshrined in the Constitution and there’s nothing he can do about it, nor will be. “People’s anger is understandable, but the reactions from certain deputies are not. We cannot cut MP salaries,” Meimarakis told Mega TV.
He said, however, that MPs who didn’t want all their pay could donate some to charities on their own initiative although he didn’t say if he would. With MPs living large while 20 percent of the country has been pushed into poverty, Meimarakis nonetheless said they would continue to enjoy salaries far above workers even though the body is often out of session.
He added, however, that there is room for discussion to reduce or remove the big tax breaks they get above and beyond their monthly salaries of 5,760 euros ($7,808) not including many other perks they get, including office expenses and another 909.31 euros per month ($1,232) for  mailing.