Tuesday, March 16, 2010

SNP Minister Nicola Sturgeon axes NHS bonuses for senior employees, the gravy train is pulling into the station and the ticket collector just got on













Dear All

It seems that Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has angered greedy people who work in the NHS and receive already a good wage.

Senior NHS employees have now had their bonuses axed to free up resources to protect front-line services.

These aren’t people on the breadline by any means as their salaries range from anywhere between £43,000 and £173,000 a year.

At a time when the culture of greed at the expense of others is seen as unacceptable these people seem to think they are special in some way.

NHS Staff get “non-consolidated” payments for meaning performance objectives, although the NHS doesn’t use the tem bonus effectively it is what this is.

The numbers who get the extra cash are approximately, 1,300 people which is less than 1% of the workforce.

Between 2006 and 2009, the highest earners in the NHS; chief executives and senior managers in Scotland craved up £2.3 million performance payments pot.

Claire Pullar, the national officer of Scotland for Managers in Partnership, the trade union for senior and executive NHS managers said;

“This bonus was perceived as something clearly earned through hard work. The decision is disappointing, demoralising, and it won’t save money in the way people think it will save money”.

That is a bit rich when they already receive a good salary in the first place, which begs the question when they are getting paid their salaries don’t they work hard?

Why should we pay extra for them to do their job to their full potential?

Nicola Sturgeon said;

“In the current financial climate the Scottish Government is committed to keeping a tight rein on public sector pay in Scotland to ensure it remains affordable, sustainable and demonstrates value for money. That’s why we have removed all non-consolidated payments for NHS executives and senior management in their latest pay award and have also frozen the pay ranges for the most senior managers.”

And not before time either.

It seems that the SNP Government have made a good start; they need to continue in a similar vein and tackle the quango system payments as well.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

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