Boldrini hails parliament salary cuts

(ANSA) - Rome, September 30 - Italian House Speaker Laura Boldrini on Tuesday hailed the passage of salary cuts for parliament personnel as "unprecedented".
    "Today we, the Senate and the Chamber, have taken an unprecedented decision together," Boldrini said on her Facebook page.
    "We have approved the reform of personnel salaries, which will bring a savings of 97 million euros over four years". "We have done it to reinforce the institution (of parliament), also bringing the salaries in line with the country, in the light of the grave (economic) crisis we are going through".
    Italian parliamentarians and their personnel have been harshly criticized for overly generous salaries in recent years, especially given major public spending cuts to fix the country's finances and Italy's large public debt.
    Stefano Dambruoso of the centrist Civic Choice (SC) party abstained from the vote, complaining that the measure did not go far enough. Dambruso said the salary reform still ensures a 2.5% raise every two years, and that compensation would remain disproportionately high even after the cuts compared to European counterparts. "Therefore I hope that the cuts can be rediscussed soon and with greater alignment of Chamber salaries with the European average," said Dambruoso.