Rs 35 a Day: Is Mauritius Paying Its Police Enough to Risk Their Lives?

A senior Mauritian opposition politician has publicly questioned whether the country's police officers are being fairly compensated for the dangers they face on the job, after a wave of public disorder left several officers injured by bottles, bricks and other projectiles.

Kushal Lobine, leader of the Nouveaux Democrates party, made the remarks in a Facebook post published on Sunday 18 October 2026. While praising the professionalism and courage shown by officers deployed during the recent unrest, he directed sharp criticism at the risk allowance set out in the Pay Research Bureau 2026 report, describing it as inadequate given the daily dangers police face.

The Pay Research Bureau, known as the PRB, is the independent government body in Mauritius responsible for reviewing and setting salaries, allowances and conditions of service for public sector workers, including the police force. Its recommendations, issued periodically, carry significant weight and are generally adopted by the government as official policy.

At the centre of Lobine's concern is a risk allowance amounting to Rs 35 per day for police officers. He argues this figure bears no realistic relation to the physical and psychological risks officers take on, particularly during serious public order incidents.

In his statement, Lobine paid tribute to officers who were hurt during the disturbances, noting that some were violently attacked during their deployments. He wrote that the events had once again shown the courage, professionalism and dedication of the police, and that officers who face such conditions deserve genuine recognition, not just in words but in financial terms.

He also appealed to the public to remember the human dimension behind each uniform. Behind every officer on the front line, he said, is a person with a family waiting for them to come home safely.

The comments have drawn attention at a moment when Mauritius is navigating a tense period of civil unrest, with curfews imposed and multiple arrests made in connection with disorder across the island.

What this means: The PRB 2026 report sets the framework for how all public servants in Mauritius are compensated, and its risk allowance rates directly affect the take-home pay of the country's roughly 12,000 police officers. If Lobine's criticism gains traction in parliament or in broader public debate, it could put pressure on the government to revisit the allowance structure, either through a supplementary budget measure or ahead of the next PRB review cycle. For police officers and their families, the difference between a symbolic allowance and a meaningful one is not merely political but affects daily living standards in a country where the cost of living has risen sharply in recent years.

Source: ION News