What Are We Striking For?
The additional benefits are on top of already generous pensions - and are made up of added years, a pension enhancement and redundancy compensation.
The salaries used to calculate these pension packages are the 'final salaries' that senior officials earn at the end of their working careers - which is what is so unfair - and why there are plans to move to a career average scheme.
A career average scheme would benefit women and low paid workers especially.
Yet the trade unions are fighting to retain these grossly unfair final salary schemes - which are skewed in favour of the higher paid.
The world's gone mad - right enough.
Glasgow Council under fire over golden goodbyes
£800,000 compensation pot for eight senior executives as pay freeze for low earners bites
Scotland's largest local authority has been slapped down for approving six-figure “golden goodbyes” for executives at the same time as implementing a pay freeze for staff on low wages.
Eight senior employees at Glasgow City Council shared a £738,000 early retirement pot, according to the body’s annual accounts. On top of generous lump sums, the staff will receive “annual compensation” payments for the rest of their lives.
Like all local authorities, Glasgow is facing the twin pressures of budgetary constraints and extra demand for key services. The council’s ruling administration has tried to cut costs by reducing headcount and sticking to a national pay freeze for the remaining staff. Between January 2009 and August this year, the council paid out £32.7 million in voluntary early retirement payments. This included £9.9m this year and £16.1m in 2010. New figures released by the council reveal it was the senior employees who benefited the most from last year’s exit packages.
Ian Drummond, who used to be executive director for corporate services and special projects, received £109,303 for “compensation for loss of office”, as well as an annual payment of £11,040. On top of his £132,051 salary, plus £10,201 for “election duties”, this took Drummond’s final remuneration package to £251,555.
Steve Inch, who was the executive director of development and regeneration, departed with a £109,279 package, plus a yearly sum of £11,032.
The former managing director of arms-length body Cordia, Fergus Chambers, secured a £101,662 exit payment, topped up by annual compensation of £11,032.
Jim Cunningham, who was the council’s assistant director of development and regeneration, walked away with £82,741, plus a separate annual sum of £7853.
Meanwhile, Wendy O’Donnell, an area education manager, walked away with £70,297, on top of a yearly £6935 payment.
Dawn Corbett, one-time head of corporate policy and service reform, left with a £48,044 early retirement deal, and a £6571 annual payment.
Ex-service development head, Thomas McCabe, got £69,955 plus yearly compensation of £6821.
The “loss of office” pay-outs were made up of an additional service lump sum, a pension enhancement, and redundancy compensation. The annual top-ups are the cash equivalents of the additional pension benefits each individual would have received had they not retired.
Other local authorities have also tried to reduce costs by paying off staff. Renfrewshire Council spent over £14m on voluntary redundancy between 2009 and 2011, while the figure in North Lanarkshire was £4.26m.
David Meikle, a Tory councillor in Glasgow, said: “I am outraged by the pay-offs Glasgow City Council senior staff have received. Local taxpayers will be shocked, especially at a time when the Labour council should be saving money, not handing out six-figure golden goodbyes to public-sector fat cats.”
Bill Kidd, an SNP MSP for Glasgow, said: “Early retirement on these rates, at a time when the vast majority of public-sector workers are being told they will have to work longer, pay more towards their pensions and then expect less on retirement seems to be wrong-headed.”
City treasurer, Councillor Paul Rooney, said: “With local government facing unprecedented cuts, we cannot sustain the number of staff we once had.
“The same offer has been made to all staff at every level of our workforce – the overwhelming majority of those that will benefit from the scheme sit in the lower half of the pay grades.”
