Pay cuts to effect MP's & Lawmakers

Spain's lower house of parliament has agreed to reduce the salary of the speaker, lawmakers, judges, mayors and municipal officials in an effort to reduce the country's budget deficit.

Lawmakers' pay will be cut by 10 % while members of parliament who receive supplementary pay due to their roles as legislative officers and party spokespersons will be subject to a 12 % reduction.

Yesterday the leaders of all parties in the parliament also agreed to suspend all unnecessary official foreign travel in a bid to trim expenses amid an austerity drive.

Mayors and other municipal officials also decided to take a reduction in their salaries, with cuts ranging from 0.25 to 15 %.

The pay cut will also affect judges, it was announced Tuesday, with reductions ranging from 8 to 10 %.

Spain's judges currently earn around 125,000 euros a year.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero last week approved austerity measures that include a five percent pay cut for public employees, a suspension of cost of living adjustments for most pensioners and an end to payment for the birth or adoption of a child.

The administration hopes the measures will help Spain reduce its budget deficit - now more than 11 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) - to three percent by 2013.