MP Andrei Korobeinik (Center), deputy chair of the Finance Committee of the Riigikogu, sent an inquiry to all Estonian ministries asking how much and for what reasons the ministries and their subordinate agencies had paid out bonuses and supplementary payments between November and January.

According to the responses received by early March, amounts ranged from a few thousand to as much as €1 million, depending on the ministry.

However, the Ministry of Finance's initial response did not clarify exactly how much and on what grounds bonuses were paid out.

"Considering that other ministries were able to distinguish the portion of salaries that consisted of bonuses or supplementary payments, it raises questions as to why the Ministry of Finance — the institution responsible for the planning of state finances and shaping budget policy — is unable to present the same detailed payroll accounting as other ministries," Korobeinik said, criticizing Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi (Reform).

The Finance Ministry has since revealed that from November 2023 through January of this year, they paid out a total of €736,939 in performance bonuses to ministry staff, accounting for 7 percent of the ministry's total salary expenses for the previous year.

"The average performance bonus amounted to one month's salary, but the amounts were distributed differently depending on individual job performance," Ligi wrote.

Individual bonus performances ranged in size from €510 to €8,671. Members of the ministry leadership, including the secretary general and deputy secretaries general, were also paid performance bonuses for the year 2024 totaling a combined €27,047.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!