THE leaders of the five main Stormont parties have jointly asked for an assembly members' pay rise to be deferred.
They said the £1,000-a-year increase came as a surprise and was a cause of dismay to all.
The Assembly Commission, which runs business in the devolved parliament, will meet today to discuss ways of stopping the pay rise.
The MLAs' basic salary rose from £49,500 to £50,500 when devolution was restored earlier this month.
The increase should have been introduced in stages over the lifespan of the three-year political crisis, but the then Secretary of State Karen Bradley blocked those increases pending the return of Stormont institutions.
The salary is now due to rise by another £500 in April.
Sinn Féin and the DUP expressed opposition, while the SDLP and Ulster Unionist members vowed to give the money to charities.
Alliance voiced concern at a pay rise recommended was by the Independent Financial Review Panel but that angered some members of the public.
A joint statement by the parties said: "We share the broad public dismay at this development, only a matter of days after the Assembly and institutions have been fully restored.
"We have had a range of concerns over time around recommendations emerging from the Independent Financial Review Panel.
"We are jointly asking the Assembly Commission that any pay proposal is immediately deferred until the work of the Financial Review Panel has been comprehensively reviewed and a new panel has the opportunity to consider this matter again and produce a fresh determination.
"We recognise that a number of MLAs and parties have indicated if the proposed pay increase cannot be halted, they will donate any additional sum to local causes and charities."
Critics claimed it was inappropriate given that MLAs did not sit in the devolved legislature for three years; it comes as many public-sector workers engaged in industrial action over pay.
The framework for the annual increases was set by independent panel, with MLAs having no input.
Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said: "Given that the assembly has just been restored this is unjustifiable and should not be paid."
DUP economy minister Diane Dodds told the BBC: "Whoever thought that this was a good thing to do, at this particular juncture, was way off the mark.
"It is incredibly unfortunate that this has jarred with the start of what has been quite a positive opening to the assembly."
