Workers at Caerphilly County Borough Council angry at the chief executive’s secret pay rise will stage a walkout protest on Monday.
Anthony O’Sullivan was one of 20 senior bosses at the local authority who were awarded pay increases at a secret meeting of five councillors in September. His salary is now believed to be around £158,000, a £35,000 increase on previously published figures.
A committee of five councillors, four Labour and one Plaid Cymru, approved a report written by Mr O’Sullivan recommending the pay increases.
Trade Union Unison’s Caerphilly branch of 3,500 members met on Wednesday to discuss the secret pay deal.
Following the meeting, Gary Enright, Unison’s Caerphilly Branch Secretary, said: “Our members are understandably extremely angry about the Chief Executive’s mammoth pay rise and are not prepared to simply accept the situation.
“It is grossly unfair and insulting to Caerphilly Council workers.
“Following discussions with our members throughout the Council, Unison has decided to lead a lunch time walk out this Monday. We will be calling on all of our members to utilise their lunch break to participate in the walk out to demonstrate their anger and strength of feeling on this matter.
“We will also be holding a lobby of the Labour Group meeting which is taking place this Monday at 5pm. We know that it is not only our members who are angry about the chief executive’s pay rise, but also members of the wider community. So we are calling on members of the public to stand alongside us on Monday to send a clear message to the council that this pay rise is simply not acceptable.”
Dominic MacAskill, UNISON Cymru/Wales Head of Local Government, said: “We hope that Caerphilly Council will sit up and listen to our members and the wider public on this issue.
“People believe in fairness for all, not just for those at the top of the pay scale. The Chief Executive has basically awarded himself a pay rise which is in excess of what most of our local government members earn in a year.
“Unison will be writing to the Minister for Local Government, Carl Sargeant, to seek his support and to ask that he publicly condemn the Chief Executive’s pay rise.
“We will also be convening a mass public meeting early in the new year and will be inviting all local politicians, including the MP, AM and Councillors, to attend to publicly express their position on the issue.”
Plaid Cymru councillor James Fussell, one of the five members of the Senior Remuneration Committee which approved the rises, issued a statement which said: “I did raise concerns at the meeting, principally over the question of whether the council had consulted the trade unions in connection with the report.
“But I was told that salary levels for chief officers were outside the normal pay bargaining and negotiating system.
“In hindsight, I should have spoken out more strongly against this report but I was just one of five members, the rest being Labour councillors.
“I did not vote for the increases proposed because I recognise it is very difficult to justify in the present economic climate.
“No other councillors, other than members of the committee, received copies of these exempt papers which is unusual and, therefore, were not aware of the existence of the report at the time it went before the full council in October.”
Plaid Cymru has now called for an extraordinary meeting of Caerphilly County Borough Council over the issue.
Cllr Colin Mann, leader of the opposition Plaid group, said: “The group executive met yesterday evening and agreed to recommend to the group that we should seek a special meeting of the authority. We expect to get that authority from the group on Monday evening.
“The rises are more than most of our employees earn in a year and this meeting will give all councillors an opportunity to have their say on this pay deal, which has caused so much outrage among employees and the public.
“Earlier this year the Labour administration announced the introduction of a living wage for the lowest employees, which we support. But the public and staff will wonder if this was an attempt to try and deflect future criticism over the pay deal for the very highest paid.”
Councillor Mann said that the group would be considering a notice of motion to put to the council at its Monday meeting.
“Apart from the size of these increases, we do also have serious concerns over how these awards were back-dated to August 1, when the council did not give its approval until October 9. The public needs answers from the Labour leadership of this council – the silence so far has been deafening.”
A special meeting of the authority cannot not be held until January because of the Christmas holidays.
Clarity has been given on this issue, today, by the Plaid Cymru Council`s Deputy Leader, Councillor James Fussell. He represented his party on the `Gang of Five` Councillors who made the recommendation to accept the report placed before them by the Chief Executive for a huge hike in his own pay.
At least he has had the decency, and the public should be gratful for him for doing so, (no-one else at the meeting, nore any other political party Councillors have uttered a word since the matter hit the press), to make a public statement clarifying his personal position on this matter, he say`s, He was opposed to it at the meeting, he says he expressed that view at the meeting, and, he apparently cautioned on accepting it if the Trade Unions representing Council Workers had not been consulted on the report, that could not have happened of course due to the appalling official secrecy in respect to the report.
At least the public are able to make a judgement now on this issue is viewed by James Fussell, Plaid Cymru Deputy Leader on the council, Colin Mann, Plaid Cymru Leader on the Council, and, Lindsay Whittle, the well respected former Plaid Cymru leader of the Caerphilly council, still a Councillor, and an AM, who has said it should not happen, and would not have happened under his watch.
Well, that just leaves the Labour Councillors who currently have total stewardship of all Governance of, our, Caerphilly Council, to express their views on it, they have to do so, individually, or, collectively very very soon if they are to regain the confidence and credibility this issue has lost for them.
I intend to lend my support to the planned protest by council workers over these unecessary and unjustified salary rises to the, already amply paid, bosses. I was not elected to remain silent when abuses of this nature take place. I have not spoken to a single person, in my ward or outside it, who agrees with these massive pay rises.
It is said that "He who pays the piper calls the tune." My view of local government is that the people are the masters and the council officers are the servants of the public. One would not think so when events of this nature take place.
This is not about party lines or unions…it is about capitalism…I cannot understand a system whereas a report can be written by a person who then suggests they deserve a 35k pay rise…oh hang about don'r all politicians vote on their own pay rises…for equality we should all be able to do it…however that would bankrupt the country…so therefore NO ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT!!!
And the Chief Executive of Caerphilly council is not even a Politician
He seem, however, to think he has the same undemocratic authority to set his pay, he has another think coming, or so I am told !!!!!
Every Chief Executive of any organisation, needs the respect and confidence of its workforce, and, the same goes for any management team within that organisation in order for them to manage effectively, both, it would appear, have lost the confidence of the workforce of the Caerphilly County Borough Council.
These senior managers have a responsibilty, to the citizens of Caerphilly Borough, to ensure that a basic mutual respect between the public, the workforce, and the elected members of the Council is maintained. In Caerphilly that has been lost, forever, due to this totally unbelievable cosy, but grossly unhealthy, partnership which appears to exist and has been created between four Senior Labour Party Cabinet Members and one Senior Plaid Cymru Member, ( Who, in fairness says he does not go along with this arrangement) and the Council`s Chief Operating Officer and his Senior Legal Officer and their head of Personell, colleague.
Heads will have to roll, political and professional scalps will need to be exorcised if this situation is ever again to be trusted by the citizens of the Borough. Labour Elected Councillors now have to get off their hands and support the `calling in` of this appalling decision.
I look forward to the public meeting to be held on this subject in January, please ensure those who are organising it find a hall big enough.
I want to know why the Chief Executive (aka secret Santa?) deemed these massive payrises necessary. The judgement of the chief executive and councillors (Santas little helpers?) who voted for this must now be in question. I'm outraged that our money is being used to line the pockets of a few rather than paying for essential council services.
If these raised salaries are to prevent the loss of senior officers to other employers, then have any of the 20 officers signed an agreement to stay with Caerphilly? If they do leave, will they repay this increase? A very disappointing episode – I fully understand the staff anger after suffering a pay freeze for two years. I might reduce my council tax payments by 20 % as they must be awash with money to fund these pay rises.
Local government workers across the UK have continued to work professionally during tough economic times. Jobs in the public sector have been slashed and thousands of loyal employees have not seen any pay rise for the past three years, despite extra pressure and limited resources. This is awful news to many people who have provided excellent services without any extra financial reward. This alleged misuse of power is shameful and embarrassing for those involved. I can only hope that this matter is investigated thoroughly and people are made accountable for any misuse of their powers and morals!
Midlands Unite Member.
Plain Greed and nothing else.
As a long-serving employee of Caerphilly County Borough, I was obviously concerned to learn of the extraordinary salary increases awarded to senior management by themselves. Under the recent job evaluation arrangements that apply to ordinary staff, I too received a salary adjustment this year, unfortunately this one was in the form of an 8% cut. I don't expect sympathy but this reduction has meant difficulty in meeting monthly bills, a permanent overdraft and the use of savings to plug the gaps. Undoubtedly the straitened circumstances imposed on my family and me by what used to be a responsible and trustworthy employer are a necessary sacrifice to ensure that the already well-off do not suffer in this period of austerity. I hope my small contribution towards their increasing affluence is appreciated.
I suppose one should never be surprised at the cynicism of the powerful: to encourage the wealthy to work harder, you have to pay them more but the lower orders only respond if they're paid less.
The current council administration should be aware that few employees who live in the borough will be voting for them next time unless this outrageous decision is rescinded. This, after all, is supposed to be a Labour authority not one full of greedy Tories whose priority is feather-bedding the undeserving rich. If those overpaid executives believe their spectacular talents are not adequately rewarded, there's a simple solution: leave. They're not doing the Council Tax payers of Caerphilly a favour by staying. As they like to lecture the rest of us: no one's indispensible.
The only way the Labour administration of Caerphilly County Borough Council will regain any credibility will be through a proper, public inquiry, conducted under proper legal processes.
The issue has moved on past the actual `stupidity` of the awarding of the huge financial benefits to a select number of so called ` Managers` of the council, the public now demand to know how such a process can come about, which allows, in this case, three senior officers of this council, to present a `case` for themselves to take public money from the public purse, and, then for just ` five` members of the ` great and the good` who move and shake the boroughs decisions, (Four of them senior Cabinet Members who`s own department heads benefited from the ` scheme, and one Plaid Cymru deputy Leader on the council)to be able to sanction such awards is at best questionable and at worse, probably something else.
Why have we not heard from Harry Andrews on this issue?, he is the leader of our Council and of the Labour Party, and it is he who has allowed this debacle to come about, does he agree with the four members of his Cabinet, who he appointed,? or Not ? does he retain confidence in this group of four Cabinet Members?, what changes will he bring about to ensure this cannot happen again?. Will he sack the four of them as a public gesture that they are certainly not up to the job of protecting public money? Which they clearly are not.
Who is Harry Andrews currently taking advice from in this matter?, is it the very same public servants, The Chief Executive and his Legal colleague and friend, the council`s solicitor, who both serviced the gang of five meeting which decided this entire process in the first place?.
If this matter was not so serious it would be funny, it looks like something out the Vicar of Dibly and the weekly town council meetings they held.
'Jeff' has made a very valid point, there should be a full scale enquiry, open to the public, on how this scandal came about. In the meantime there should be a full meeting of the council with one agenda item, namely the pay rises awarded on the basis of this report.I am confident that the full council would vote to over turn these rises, which cannot be justified.
If then the senior people affected wish to leave then so be it. They will not find as easy as they think to find a £100,000 plus salary anywhere in Wales. We can then recruit people who wish to do these jobs for a more modest remuneration. At these pay rates we will find that we have well qualified applicants from all around the world.