Evesham News
£170,000 for county chief exec
1:00pm Monday 20th February 2012
MORE than £170,000 separates the chief executive from the lowest paid employee at Worcestershire County Council.
While Trish Haines is on a pay scale of £167,977 to £183,725 a year, the lowest salary ranges between £12,489 to £13,589.
Meanwhile, over in Gloucestershire, the chief executive of the county council Peter Bungard is paid slightly less, with a salary of £161,255.
Worcestershire council chiefs say the disparity sits comfortably within national recommendations. At the last meeting of full council, leader Coun Adrian Hardman said that while Mrs Haines’ salary was 14.8 times that of the lowest paid employee, he did not see that as a cause for concern. With average pay about £19,000 for a county council employee, the multiple sits at 9.6.
Coun Hardman (Conservative) said: “Members are no doubt aware that in Lord Hutton’s fair pay review he suggested the maximum multiplier would be 20, therefore this council is content with the way that its pay grades sit.”
Coun Richard Udall (Labour) said: “There are still inequalities in public sector pay and these do need to be addressed if we’re going to achieve a more equal society.
“But surely we do need to admit our failings first?”
Coun Udall also asked if the council would publish the data on an annual basis. Coun Hardman replied that it was already on the county’s website and added he was not prepared to take any further action on the matter.