Council chief executive pay 'out of hand'
Communities secretary John Denham says salaries for local government bosses are "out of hand"
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By Richard James. |  |
Tuesday, 29, Sep 2009 12:04
By Matthew Champion.
The communities secretary has said he will act on "public anger" to clamp down on excessive pay for local government bosses.
John Denham said salaries for council chief executives had gotten "out of hand", with nine being paid an average of £212,000 a year and their average pay going up by £40,000 in seven years.
In the same period the average pay of local government workers had risen £6,000, the communities and local government secretary said.
In his speech in Brighton, Mr Denham pledged to tackle the "boomerang bosses" who move from one high-paid job with a sizeable payout immediately into another one.
"Don't get me wrong, these are not bad people. Most have given their own lifetime of public service.
"But we all know; it's just all got out of hand and it's just got to stop.
"I don't want to see the pay or the pensions of local public servants dragged down by public anger at the excess of a few."
Mr Denham said he was not joining the "clamour of Clegg and Cameron to slash your pensions", the average of which stands at £4,500.
"But I do want to limit the pension entitlements of the very highest earners, with every council publishing details of high paid posts, their pay, pensions, bonuses and allowances."
He added that he was "sick and tired" of Tory councils being duplicitous about their plans for the future.
"We'll tell the truth about Cameron's councils on every doorstep, in every street and in every community," Mr Denham concluded.
"They've said one thing and done another for too long."