which will come into affect on April 1.

Government Senate Leader Lynda Milligan-Whyte said on Wednesday that a joint select committee met around March 1994 to review and make recommendations for Parliamentary pay and pensions.

A majority report was issued which looked at other Parliaments' system and also looked at ministerial salary increases between 1980 and 1994 and the consumer price index from 1982-94 as well as comparisons of BIU settlements over that period.

The committee recommended that MPs' salaries be revised to reflect the cost of living. That amounted to an increase of 27.9 percent. The committee also recommended that future increases would be adjusted annually in line with the consumer price index.

Under the plan, Senators' salaries will rise from $20,466 to $20,978 per year.

Opposition Senate Leader Milton Scott said that his Government counterpart neglected to tell the Senate that the majority report was not fully implemented.

And he said that based on the standard of living in Bermuda the salary paid to a member of the Legislature was among the lowest in the world.

Moreover the "part timer'' tag had helped to continue this state of affairs.

Sen. Scott said most MPs who were in charge of large Ministries worked almost full time on their respective portfolios and should be given full time pay.

"I think we should rethink the idea of `MPs and legislators are part timers','' he said.