Questions over ‘fat cat salaries’ at city council

people of Dundee should be the priority.”

Meanwhile, new figures also reveal 407 city council officers were in the £50,000-plus wage bracket – the figure last year was 205.

However, council leader John Alexander said that can be attributed to a nationwide rise in teacher wages, after the Scottish Government agreed to increase paypackets, although this was questioned by Labour opposition leader, Kevin Keenan.

Mr Alexander said: “From an increase of 202 staff, 80% or 162 relate purely to teaching staff.

“This follows on from nationally agreed pay settlements.

“We’ve seen the real value of our teaching staff in recent months and I think now, more than ever, the public have seen how our teaching staff have risen to the challenges.”

Mr Keenan said: “One major consideration is public perception – the increase in council tax, a reduction in services and the introduction of brown bin charges,” he said.

“What would the reaction of a care worker be if they have been forced to take the hit and are now looking at these figures?”

As part of its savings plan, the council announced it would cut cleaning costs by 5% to save £40,000 a year and reduce teachers and support staff to save £234,000 in 2020/21.

In a joint report the chief executive and council leader said: “The Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee for Local Authority Services sets the salaries for the chief executives.”

* Former leisure and culture director Stewart Murdoch’s annual salary would have been £104,606. However, he stood down in January and therefore received £74,454.

His replacement, Judy Dobbie, is on a salary of £98,644, and received £32,881 for her spell in charge during the last financial year.