The Dance of Salary Compensation, PRB Ghosts, and Moody’s Oracles

Socratic Dialogue:

In Mauritius, the annual ritual of salary compensation sparks debates louder than the waves on Flic-en-Flac beach. Trade unions march, employers groan, and government officials attempt the delicate art of arithmetic without triggering a Moody’s downgrade. In this Socratic Dialogue, we join Socrates and Cephalus under a filao tree, watching sunbathers while probing the philosophical — and fiscal — tensions behind the salary compensation, the elusive PRB report, and the ever-watchful eyes of rating agencies.

Setting: Socrates and Cephalus sit on a Mauritian beach under a filao tree, debating economics while occasionally glancing at pretty sunbathers in skimpy beach attire.

* Socrates — Eternal philosopher; knows nothing, asks everything.

* Cephalus — Wealthy Athenian businessman mysteriously visiting Mauritius; believes he knows everything, fears everything.

* Chorus of Tourists (occasionally commenting) — Represents public opinion.

Socrates: My dear Cephalus, I see you sitting by the sea, frowning at a coconut. It cannot be the coconut that troubles you. Pray, what is weighing down your brow?

Cephalus: Socrates, I am reading the Mauritian newspapers. It is compensation season again. Trade unions are marching, employers are groaning, and the government looks as though it wishes it could declare an early general election just to escape the calculations.

Socrates: Compensation season? I was unaware there was such a season in Mauritius. Does it fall between mango season and cyclone season?

Cephalus: It is more like cyclone season, Socrates. Every year, the winds begin to howl around November. Workers demand full compensation for inflation — sometimes even more, in case next year’s inflation might feel jealous. Employers insist they cannot pay a cent more without collapsing dramatically. And government must pretend that both sides are reasonable while Moody’s peers over its shoulder like a strict schoolmaster.

Socrates: Ah, Moody’s, the oracle of the modern era. Instead of reading the entrails of goats, they read the entrails of government accounts — and both methods inspire equal fear.

Cephalus: Exactly! And this year the proposed compensation is Rs 610. But unions say it is not enough. Employers say it is too much. Government says it is just right. It is like the Goldilocks of public finance: not too high (to upset employers/businesses), not too low (to upset workers/unions), but “just right” for public finance!

Socrates: Let us begin at the beginning. Tell me, Cephalus: what is the purpose of this compensation?

Cephalus: To protect purchasing power, Socrates. Inflation was harsh. Prices rose. Workers suffered. So the National Wages Council recommends an increase that the government usually approves. Except that unions ask: “Which worker? Which inflation? Which basket of goods?” They argue that the inflation experienced by the poor is not the one calculated by economists who buy quinoa and almond milk for breakfast.

Socrates: So, the worker says the compensation is too low, because official inflation ignores the suffering of actual humans?

Cephalus: Precisely.

Socrates: And the employer?

Cephalus: Claims the compensation is devastating, because their balance sheet trembles like a leaf in a Mauritian breeze. They warn of layoffs, closures, bankruptcies, and the end of civilisation if compensation exceeds the price of two dholl-puris per day.

Socrates: And do these things occur?

Cephalus: Usually not. But employers will say they might, theoretically, someday, if Jupiter aligns with Mars and wage bills continue rising.

Socrates: And the government? What role does it play in this annual theatre?

Cephalus: It tries to look wise while performing complicated arithmetic behind the scenes. It must appease unions without upsetting employers. It must protect workers without frightening investors. And above all, it must avoid a downgrade from Moody’s, whose analysts watch budget deficits the way hawks watch field mice.

Socrates: I see. And this Rs 610 — does it satisfy anyone?

Cephalus: Only the coconut I was frowning at. It seems to be at peace with all things.

Socrates: Let us investigate. If the compensation is meant to neutralise inflation, should it not always match inflation?

Cephalus: In theory, yes.

Socrates: And if inflation is 7% but wages rise only by 3%, is the worker not poorer?

Cephalus: Absolutely.

Socrates: Then why do employers insist on paying less?

Cephalus: Because they argue that productivity has not risen. They say: “How can we raise wages when output per worker is stagnant?” Workers reply that you cannot raise productivity when salaries can barely pay the bus fare to get to work.

Socrates: So one side waits for productivity to rise before raising wages, and the other waits for wages to rise before raising productivity. It reminds me of two donkeys waiting for the other to move first so they can reach the hay.

Socrates: And tell me, Cephalus, I hear that the government provides subsidies to help employers pay this Rs 610 compensation or whatever is decided at the end of the day. What manner of economic creature is this?

Cephalus: Ah yes — the MRA’s Financial Assistance Scheme. The government pays a portion of the compensation to SMEs, Export Oriented Enterprises, BPO companies, and others. This allows employers to claim they cannot afford wages while accepting government funds to afford them.

Socrates: So, the state gives money to employers so they can give money to workers, so workers can buy goods whose prices rose because employers raised them?

Cephalus: When you say it like that, it sounds suspiciously circular.

Socrates: It is a perfect circle, my friend — like a donut, except with no sweetness inside.

Socrates: And what is this I hear of a mysterious document called the PRB report? It seems to haunt the island like a ghost.

Cephalus: A very expensive ghost, Socrates. It determines salary structures for public servants. Its release has been postponed several times — much like those Greek tragedies where the hero keeps delaying his fate until the chorus becomes impatient.

Socrates: And what are workers asking?

Cephalus: Unions are demanding its immediate release. They believe government has kept it in a locked drawer because the recommendations will increase public sector wages significantly.

Socrates: And why would that be a problem?

Cephalus: Because it would blow up public finances. The economy is already in the red. Moody’s is watching. If public salaries rise sharply, the private sector will be pressured to follow, leading to more cries of “We cannot pay!” and more subsidies the government cannot afford.

Socrates: So, releasing the PRB report could trigger higher wages, leading to higher costs, leading to higher prices, leading to higher compensation next year?

Cephalus: Exactly!

Socrates: Another donut.

Socrates: Let us seek wisdom. Tell me, Cephalus: what is a fair compensation?

Cephalus: One that keeps both unions and employers equally unhappy.

Socrates: That is not fairness but diplomacy. I ask again: what is a just compensation?

Cephalus: To be just, it must protect the weakest from losing purchasing power.

Socrates: And must justice not also protect the viability of enterprises, so the weakest may remain employed?

Cephalus: That too, yes.

Socrates: And must justice not prevent the government from sinking into debt so deep that Moody’s sends it handwritten letters of concern?

Cephalus: Quite so.

Socrates: So just compensation must protect workers’ purchasing power, keep businesses afloat, and not bankrupt the state?

Cephalus: Yes, but that is impossible!

Socrates: Impossible or simply difficult?

Cephalus: Difficult in the way that swimming from Mauritius to Madagascar is difficult.

Socrates: My friend, I conclude that the annual debate persists because no one wishes to acknowledge the simplest truth.

Cephalus: And what truth is that?

Socrates: That wages, prices, productivity, and public spending must rise together in harmony — like dancers in a sega — or else everyone’s toes will get stepped on.

Cephalus: Then how shall we restore this harmony?

Socrates: Mauritius must choose: either to raise productivity through training, technology, and innovation, or to accept that each year’s compensation is merely a band-aid on a wound no one wishes to treat.

Cephalus: And until then?

Socrates: Until then, there will be annual shouting, marching, warnings of economic collapse, promises of improvement, and Moody’s issuing cryptic statements about “structural vulnerabilities.”

Cephalus: So, nothing will change?

Socrates: On the contrary, everything will change — only very loudly, and very slowly.

And so, as the sun sets over the Mauritian horizon, Socrates and Cephalus rise, still wiser, still confused, and slightly sunburned. They leave behind a landscape of marching unions, groaning employers, and government accountants balancing spreadsheets like tightrope walkers. Meanwhile, the tourists clap their hands for the sega dancers, oblivious to the economic ballet unfolding under their feet. And Socrates, peering at the horizon, sighs: “In Mauritius, my friend, the only certainty is that next year, we shall debate all over again… and the coconut will frown once more.”

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Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 12 December 2025