...but winners will be fat cats on £23,000 for night’s work
SCOTLAND’s council ‘fat cats’ will be the real winners of the independence campaign – by pocketing bonuses of up to £23,000 each for running local referendum counts.
Top officials at the country’s 32 councils will share an eye-watering £201,000 windfall for one night’s work as ‘counting officers’ – on top of their normal salaries, which often run into six figures.
Some of them will earn more in one night than the average annual salary in parts of their council areas. The size of the ‘bonus’ fee varies between different councils depending on the size of the electorate and other factors.
Glasgow City Council chief executive George Black stands to be the biggest winner, by pocketing up to £22,648 for his work on referendum night – in addition to his £167,000 salary. The fees are part of the total £9 million cost of running the referendum count on September 18.
Eben Wilson, of the Taxpayer-Scotland pressure group, said: ‘These outrageous fees are simply the milking, yet again, of taxpayers. Why is this role not part of their existing job description, so that they would cost us less?’
Mr Black’s windfall means he will earn more for his night’s work than the average salary of four of the six constituencies in Glasgow, including Glasgow North East, where the average is £18,493.
Sue Bruce of City of Edinburgh Council, will earn up to £16,777, while Fife Council chief Steve Grimmond will pocket up to £13,789.
THE pro-Union Better Together campaign is offering all No voters a lift to their local polling station on referendum day.
In an ‘unprecedented’ campaign, the group says it will have 25,000 volunteers ready to help with transport. However, pro-independence campaign Yes Scotland said it hopes to have 30,000 volunteers to assist people.