- By Alex Seabrook
- Local Democracy Reporting Service
Conservative councilor Richard Eddy said the rule is “false”
Councilors have questioned a rule on paying council heads high salaries.
Bristol City Council’s controversial pay policy states that the highest paid staff should not receive more than 10 times the salary of the lowest paid staff.
The policy only relates to council employees, not agency workers. Both low and high paid staff are employed through agencies.
Before the new fiscal year begins in April, the payment policy statement must be signed by the full council.
Although the proposals meet the rules outlined in the pay policy, members of the human resources committee questioned the eligibility criteria.
Starting in April, the lowest-paid council employees will earn the real living wage, which is £10.90 per hour.
A staff member working a full-time 37-hour week at an actual living wage would earn a minimum wage of £21,029, while the chief executive would receive a salary of between £176,000 and £187,000.
The high pay rules were rolled out nationwide after a 2011 review that explored ways to make public sector pay fairer.
Labor councilor Kerry Bailes said: “We’ve gotten rid of all the lowest-paid workers. Everyone wants more money, we’d all love a pay rise, I’m sure. But it seems to me that we’re putting the top amount up and up. cleaners don’t get paid that much and we’re outsourcing so many jobs. We don’t employ underpaid staff. £21,000 is quite a bit of money. I have three jobs and probably hardly make that much.
“People at the top are already paid a lot of money, well above average and more than most of us probably ever make. When do you get to the point where you have enough money before you say ‘I don’t need anything? ?more?’ If you work for a local authority, it’s more of a vocation. Why are they paid so much money?”
Before the human resources committee meets again on March 1, they will discuss issues related to the policy and vote to recommend it for approval by the full council.