Councillors back pay review deadline extension (From Western Telegraph)

Well done Cllr Millar! The decision, passed unanimously, to lift the threat raise a very interesting point as to just who is in control of PCC. How did such an unpoular item get on the agenda in the first place? Either the Chief Executive had not discussed, let alone agreed, the meeting's agenda with the Leader or the Leader displayed a total lack of judgement regarding the ill feeling that would be engendered by carrying the threat to staff. What trust can we have in such a body?

95% of affected staff have signed with the majority "under duress" and would not have signed if this meeting was held earlier in the month, the deadline for signing was today lets see if all these staff get the opportunity to reconsider and finally get the full information they require to make an informed and rational decision without having a gun pointed to their heads.
A councillor who is willing to stand up for PCC employees is one who definatley gets my vote. THANK YOU

Dave Edwards you are so right lets start cutting at the top with a 20% salary decrease this would be popular with the Pembrokeshire people. Lead by example Chief executive.

There is so much coverage of the hardship payments. What about the lucky few lower paid who have actually been granted a pay rise. Those who are moving within a pay grade will not be receiving pay arrears at their new point, but rather pay arrears somewhere between what they are earning now and what they will be earning from April 2013. This is not shown in the information sent out - more carefully omitted!! I felt this should be brought to the public's attention, especially those who are expecting arreas to be paid out shortly - there could be a shock as to how little they will receive.

Well done Mr Miller
It's reassuring to know someone is on our side. At last!!!!
As reported, the majority of us have signed and returned our acceptance forms (under duress) as we were threatened with not receiving our hardship allowance if we didn't.
'Some councillors voiced their concerns about how the process had been carried out'....PCC employees have the same concerns.

There seems to be a culture of work place bullying within Pembs CC. At last an elected member (Mr Miller) has said enough is enough.

Surely, any form of bullying is unacceptable and appropriate action should be taken. Yet another example of the CEO's short comings in allowing this to happen.

Well done Cllr Miller. The first time in living memory that someone has stood up to the Kremlin. Let's hope it will be the first of many.

OK but add up all the perks that PCC staff enjoy.

Then compare this with someone doing a real job, that is if they can get one.

Now you will see that they are overpaid and under-worked.

So better get on with the cull now before PCC runs out of money.

What other perks? PCC staff now only get HMRC rate of travel expenses- the holidays aren't generous in comparison to the private sector and the pension is worse than many in the private sector as well- what perks were you referring to?

enthusiasticmisfit wrote:
What other perks? PCC staff now only get HMRC rate of travel expenses- the holidays aren't generous in comparison to the private sector and the pension is worse than many in the private sector as well- what perks were you referring to?

Tell the truth

29 days holiday
Flexi time
index linked pension
Most are rubbish at their jobs
6 months full paid sick leave then 6 months on 1/2 pay.

shall I go on?

Actually it is only 2 months full pay sick pay, 25 days holiday and not everyone gets flexi time and it would be interesting to see the proof of the sweeping generalisation that most are rubbish at their jobs. From experience there are a lot worse county councils about..

enthusiasticmisfit wrote:
Actually it is only 2 months full pay sick pay, 25 days holiday and not everyone gets flexi time and it would be interesting to see the proof of the sweeping generalisation that most are rubbish at their jobs. From experience there are a lot worse county councils about..

So you say because others are worse then that is OK.

I think but this statement only you have shown that I am right.

I didn't say that at all but I think things need to be put in perspective- especially with your comment about most employees being rubbish at their jobs.

David Edwards and Paul Miller seem to have a short memory, it was their Labour Party colleague Liam Byrne who said I believe something like "the pot is empty" when leaving office. Many workers in the private sector have suffered in this recession, mainly due to the Labour Party when in power empire building in the public sector which is unsustainable. Whilst accepting that major cuts are needed at the top, some of the payments to employees other than their salaries should be looked at.

Councillors will have to get a grip of public spending and one wonders how councillors can carry out a full time job and also carry out their duties at county hall

Get a grip wrote:

enthusiasticmisfit wrote: What other perks? PCC staff now only get HMRC rate of travel expenses- the holidays aren't generous in comparison to the private sector and the pension is worse than many in the private sector as well- what perks were you referring to?

Tell the truth 29 days holiday Flexi time index linked pension Most are rubbish at their jobs 6 months full paid sick leave then 6 months on 1/2 pay. shall I go on?

Branding people "Rubbish at their jobs" without evidence would be considered by most reasonable people to be offensive and potentially libellous.

And since you like lecturing us on the private sector here is a tit bit from sky news 04 March 2013 regarding Non Executive Pay in the UK private sector.


Oil and gas firm non-executive chairs average over £500,000
Average weekly salaries across the whole UK economy, at
April each year, since 2007.Non-executive chairmen of top companies received average pay rises of 6% last year, taking their earnings to almost £400,000, a new study has revealed.

Pay analysts Incomes Data Services (IDS) said its research among FTSE firms showed average fees ranged from £270,000 in technology businesses to over £500,000 in oil and gas companies.

Fewer firms increased non-executive directors' pay in 2012 than in the previous year.

Average fees for non-executive directors (NEDs) increased by 4% last year to £64,000 - double the amount of 12 years ago.

Nasreen Rahman, assistant editor at IDS, said: "Investor scrutiny over boardroom pay and the link to shareholder returns continues to be a contentious issue, which could be why fewer Ftse100 businesses raised their fees for NEDs during 2012.

"Executive pay at FTSE 100 businesses is coming under increased scrutiny. That is especially the case in financial services, where the connection between risk and reward is attracting attention not only from shareholders but also from regulators.

"Remuneration committee chairmen have a crucial role to play in improving corporate governance in the wake of the credit crunch. Aligning the interests of the chief executive and shareholders is a particular challenge."

Fees for the chairmen of company remuneration committees increased by 14% last year, said the report.

TUC general secretary, Frances O'Grady, commented: "These figures highlight once again why we need urgent reform of boardroom pay.

"Top directors are showing little restraint while millions of workers are suffering real-term losses to their incomes and are really feeling the squeeze on their living standards.

"FTSE 100 directors' pay rose over seven times faster than average wages in some cases last year, with rises well above inflation.

"These bumper settlements bear little relation to performance. Allowing workers a seat on remuneration committees would help inject a much-needed dose of reality into pay-setting."

timerousbeastie wrote:

Get a grip wrote:

enthusiasticmisfit wrote: What other perks? PCC staff now only get HMRC rate of travel expenses- the holidays aren't generous in comparison to the private sector and the pension is worse than many in the private sector as well- what perks were you referring to?

Tell the truth 29 days holiday Flexi time index linked pension Most are rubbish at their jobs 6 months full paid sick leave then 6 months on 1/2 pay. shall I go on?

Branding people "Rubbish at their jobs" without evidence would be considered by most reasonable people to be offensive and potentially libellous.

And since you like lecturing us on the private sector here is a tit bit from sky news 04 March 2013 regarding Non Executive Pay in the UK private sector.


Oil and gas firm non-executive chairs average over £500,000
Average weekly salaries across the whole UK economy, at
April each year, since 2007.Non-executive chairmen of top companies received average pay rises of 6% last year, taking their earnings to almost £400,000, a new study has revealed.

Pay analysts Incomes Data Services (IDS) said its research among FTSE firms showed average fees ranged from £270,000 in technology businesses to over £500,000 in oil and gas companies.

Fewer firms increased non-executive directors' pay in 2012 than in the previous year.

Average fees for non-executive directors (NEDs) increased by 4% last year to £64,000 - double the amount of 12 years ago.

Nasreen Rahman, assistant editor at IDS, said: "Investor scrutiny over boardroom pay and the link to shareholder returns continues to be a contentious issue, which could be why fewer Ftse100 businesses raised their fees for NEDs during 2012.

"Executive pay at FTSE 100 businesses is coming under increased scrutiny. That is especially the case in financial services, where the connection between risk and reward is attracting attention not only from shareholders but also from regulators.

"Remuneration committee chairmen have a crucial role to play in improving corporate governance in the wake of the credit crunch. Aligning the interests of the chief executive and shareholders is a particular challenge."

Fees for the chairmen of company remuneration committees increased by 14% last year, said the report.

TUC general secretary, Frances O'Grady, commented: "These figures highlight once again why we need urgent reform of boardroom pay.

"Top directors are showing little restraint while millions of workers are suffering real-term losses to their incomes and are really feeling the squeeze on their living standards.

"FTSE 100 directors' pay rose over seven times faster than average wages in some cases last year, with rises well above inflation.

"These bumper settlements bear little relation to performance. Allowing workers a seat on remuneration committees would help inject a much-needed dose of reality into pay-setting."

OK most was a bit over the top, but so is your post!

Deep down you know I am right.

Anyway lost interest now.

The Local Government Association -is nothing more than a trade union for senior council managers - they are the ones who have fooled Councils all over the UK that as council managers they deal with large budgets their salaries should be comparable - forgetting they don't work for a Tescos where you have competition , where you have to succeed and provide a better service per pound - councils are given the money (or take it off us) and have been told by central Gov. where to spend most of it so very little "real responsibility" - me ? I've decided to pay my council tax to another council as it's approximately 50% less.
Think about it - the more a council can tax and spend, the more the senior managers can pay themselves - surely the wrong way round?

Tttoommy wrote:
The Local Government Association -is nothing more than a trade union for senior council managers - they are the ones who have fooled Councils all over the UK that as council managers they deal with large budgets their salaries should be comparable - forgetting they don't work for a Tescos where you have competition , where you have to succeed and provide a better service per pound - councils are given the money (or take it off us) and have been told by central Gov. where to spend most of it so very little "real responsibility" - me ? I've decided to pay my council tax to another council as it's approximately 50% less. Think about it - the more a council can tax and spend, the more the senior managers can pay themselves - surely the wrong way round?

Much of what you say is true.

However a couple of points to consider.

Many companies working in the competitive environments pay their senior staff hugely well regardless of performance. Banks and failed retail chains for instance.

Councils increasingly are competing for funds from WG or EU whilst there are often socio-economic factors, the quality of bids and capacity of Local Authorities are a factor in any success.

Your final point (despite agreeing with the sentiment of your argument) kind of fails in Pembrokeshire as it has the lowest council tax in Wales I beleive, therefore paying it elsewhere would cost you money.