12 December 2008
By David Scott in Edinburgh
MSPs on an influential parliamentary committee have hit out at the 'excessive bonuses' and pay-offs for public body chiefs at a time when frontline staff were entitled only to inflation-linked increases.
At a Holyrood finance committee hearing, MSPs from all parties hit out at the pay gap after hearing evidence on public sector pay policy from Scottish Government and union officials.
One MSP, Alex Neil, condemned the bonuses paid to some chief executives of quangos, such as Scottish Water, and other public bodies.
Neil, a Scottish National Party MSP, said his 'hackles were raised' as he learned of the pay gap between those at the top end and the bottom.
He said that if one looked at the pay restrictions for people in services like health 'and then look at the mega-film star bonuses paid to some chief executives of the quangos, quite frankly there is no concept of fairness'.
Neil claimed that in Scottish Water, a public sector utility, the total bonuses available for most staff were something of the order of 2%–3%. Yet the chief executive received a 38% bonus on an already 'well over-inflated' salary.
A Liberal Democrat MSP, Jeremy Purvis, said it 'jarred horrendously' to see the bonuses paid to top executives at a time of financial restraint.
The MSPs were told that £3.6m was paid in salaries to 38 chief executives of public bodies.
Alistair Brown, deputy director of finance at the Scottish Executive, said pay for chief executives was governed by the pay policy set by ministers.
'In setting the pay level for any individual post, it's necessary to take into account the perceived market for that level of responsibility in that kind of organisation,' he said.
PFdec2008
