Anger over ‘fat cat’ union bosses who earn more than PM
trade union bosses are more than the Prime Minister.
They are among 45 officials who earn more than £100,000 a year from the fees paid by the people they represent.
The figures were provided yesterday by the TaxPayers’ Alliance which revealed the total pay of the union leaders who earned more than this was about £5.7million over the last year.
The five bosses who earned more than the Prime Minister’s £149,440 included Russell Hobby, of the National Union of Head Teachers, who was paid £161,548, John Smith, general secretary of the Musicians Union (£155,728) and TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady (£152,365).
Chloe Westley, campaign manager at TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “These union bosses claim to speak for workers but it looks hypocritical when they take home whopping salaries at the same time as they criticise high pay elsewhere.”
Among the best paid were those from the Fire Brigades Union. They included five people on six-figure salaries led by general secretary Matt Wrack on £125,812.
Lavish
earning
The salaries do not include grace-andfavour homes and other perks handed to the union leaders who campaign against industry leaders for earning high wages.
The alliance pointed out the 45 union officials on high wages were in the top five per cent of earners that far Left shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he wants to punish with higher taxes.
The report said: “The deputy general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, the trade union for prison officers, ranked bottom of our list of high earners.
“However, his remuneration package was £100,014.” This was £72,414 higher than the UK average of £27,600 a year.
It added: “Public-sector trade unions are subsidised by the public purse.
“Therefore, it is taxpayers who are paying for the very high salaries which fund the lavish lifestyles of many trade union bosses.
“It is difficult to see how it is not at least slightly hypocritical for trade union bosses to criticise ‘corporate greed’, when they themselves are earning so much more than the average worker.”
The revelations came as it emerged Labour’s hard-Left election campaign was bankrolled by £27million from the unions raised out of the fees paid for by hard-pressed workers.
The level of donations has backed up claims that Labour is still “in the pockets” of union bosses like Len McCluskey, the far Left general secretary of Unite. Concerns were raised further when a senior Labour spokesman refused to rule out backing a general strike aimed at bringing the UK to its knees.
Asked yesterday about a general strike, shadow health secretary Jon AshFIVE worth said: “People go on strike for industrial reasons, they don’t go on strike for political reasons and the Labour Party supports people who take industrial action.
“But we don’t want it to get to that stage. We don’t want to see a strike.”