“IT’S not a pay rise. It’s a job re-evaluation.”


These are (effectively) the words used by the chairman of the National Assembly’s independent remuneration board to justify recommendations that, if adopted, will see AMs’ salaries increase by £10,000 a year after next year’s Assembly elections.


Sandy Blair is the man in question. He is the former chief executive of Newport council and former director of the Welsh Local Government Association.


Mr Blair is no fool. Therefore, he must surely know that no taxpayer in Wales will take his words seriously.


Of course what he is suggesting is a pay rise. And at 18% it is a whopping one.


Unsurprisingly, public reaction has been one of outrage.


We have yet to find one of our readers who supports this proposal. And they are the people who will be paying for it.


The public sector in Wales is in the midst of massive cuts as the UK government’s austerity measures bite.


As public services are cut to the bone and thousands of jobs are lost, this kind of pay rise (combined with Assembly presiding officer Dame Rosemary Butler’s desire to see the number of AMs increased from 60 to 80) is absolute madness.


It is a PR disaster, particularly as it comes just weeks after the Welsh Government said it wanted to cut salaries for councillors.


We are not against increased responsibilities for AMs being recognised financially - but the level of pay rise proposed is utterly out of kilter with the current economic climate.