Big Money, Big Job

OPPOSITION Members of the Scottish Parliament are unhappy about the salary level of some of the Scottish Government agencies’ most senior staff. They find annual remuneration packages in excess of £100,000 ‘unacceptable’, and there will be many members of the public who agree. By the standards of some football clubs, for example, £2,000 a week is well below average pay, so why the fuss?

People are generally paid according to what they return for their employer, so the superstars will always command high remunerative packages because they generate profit. Public servants are paid for by the taxpayer so performance in the public sector might not be measured in profit, but senior staff will have specific targets to meet and carry responsibilities for personnel in the thousands and budgets in the millions. Public working conditions have to be able to compete with those in the private sector to attract leaders with the right qualifications, experience and expertise. Otherwise public services will always be led by B-Listers at best. Do any of us really want that?

It wasn’t so long ago that the public was outraged at the high salaries and even higher bonuses paid to senior figures in the banking and financial services sectors. When it emerged that some of these characters had taken too many risks with other people’s money, their careers were over and their reputations ruined.

Of course, it would be easier to live in disgrace and without any job prospects with several million pounds in the bank.