Pay review ‘hypocrisy’ of the Bank chief who called for workers’ wage restraint
BANK of England Governor Andrew Bailey has been accused of ‘sickening hypocrisy’ for launching a pay review for his 4,000 staff.
It follows his calls for workers to ‘show restraint’ and not accept big pay rises because it could exacerbate soaring inflation.
The Bank has kicked off a ‘performance and salary review process’, which will use ‘a new performance approach’ to determine its staff’s pay.
The Sunday Telegraph revealed Mr Bailey, whose own salary is among the highest in the UK at £575,000, was present at a meeting when the review was agreed in December.
Mr Bailey was slapped down by Downing Street and the Treasury in February for telling workers not to demand big pay rises. He himself rejected a pay increase for 2022 and said ‘everybody must make their own judgment’ as the UK prepares for inflation to hit 10 per cent this year.
Former Cabinet minister Liam Fox said: ‘I assume that when they tell the rest of the British people not to ask for a pay rise, they will apply the same rules to themselves knowing the public are watching as never before.’
Gary Smith, of the GMB trade union, described the Bank’s decision to go ahead with the pay review as ‘sickening hypocrisy’.
The Bank of England, which has also faced criticism for allowing staff to work from home for four days a week, said ‘no changes’ have been made to its pay, and pay increases arising from the new scheme are yet to be awarded.