Trade union blasts charity chief executives' salary
News

Trade union blasts charity chief executives' salary "greed" 1

Governance | Gareth Jones | 10 Nov 2009
Topics: Remuneration

Acevo chief executive Stephen Bubb has hit out at claims by the trade union Unite that an “excessive City pay culture” exists in the charity sector.

Unite had said that it was concerned that some charity chief executives are earning more than the Prime Minister’s annual salary of £197,000, citing John Belcher, who stepped down from his £391,000 a year role at the Anchor Trust last week.

Writing in his blog, Bubb said: “The union says that an ‘excessive’ city pay culture is creeping into charities. Pardon? Which CEO exactly is receiving a bonus? (Answer none) - let alone a bonus the size of an average charity CEO salary.

“What underlies this attack is an unpleasant and patronising attitude to the third sector which assumes that we are all small scale and amateur and therefore not capable of earning a proper professional salary - unlike workers in the public sector.”

He added that Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson, the joint general secretaries of Unite, earn £122,108 and £186,626 respectively, adding: “On the index that Unite have devised for the Guardian story, Unite are paying their CEOs 26 times the salary of a member on the minimum wage!”

High earners singled out

Unite had also singled out top salaries at the Riverside Housing Group (£231,000), the UK Film Council (£205,000-£210,000), the National Trust (£160,000-£169,999), Age Concern (£100,001-120,000) and RSPB (£100,001-£110,000).

The union compared these to the £5.80 minimum wage earned by many charity employees, though it did emphasise that it was only concerned about excessive pay, rather than the majority of charity chief executives who on average earn £57,000 a year.

“It is quite clear that the insidious City culture of excessive pay is seeping into the packages of some not-for-profit sector chief executives,” said Unite’s national officer for the not-for-profit sector Rachael Maskell.

“This is to be deplored as it corrupts the ethos of the voluntary sector and is an insult to those, often on average incomes, who donate to charity. I think the general public will be shocked by the scale of the packages that some executives are being awarded. This sector is losing its sense of what real value is.

“It is not right that a charity boss earns much more than the Prime Minister. Flat pay increases of a set amount should be introduced, instead of percentage rises, as these would reduce pay disparities, which are hitting, in particular, women, disabled people, ethnic minorities and part-time workers.”

Share

Trade union blasts charity chief executives' salary "greed"

Place a comment

Andy Samel
Development Officer
Islington Voluntary Action Council
12 Nov 2009

Whilst I agree with Stephen Bubb that CEOs of third sector organisations need to be paid an amount that reflects the professional and important work they do, earning almost double the amount of the prime minister is laughable (or not)however you look at it!

I would like to know how the trustees came to the conclusion that a £391,000 salary was in the best interests of the charity. I would have taken the job for half of that!

Andy Samel
IVAC

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

NCVO calls for sector spending to remain 'neutral'

2 Sep 2010

NCVO has made its submission to the Treasury spending review, calling on the government to ensure the...

Organisation to negotiate short-term property leases for charities

2 Sep 2010

Woolworths stores are being targeted by a new charity created to act as an intermediary between landlords...

CTN asked to name top five red tape burdens

1 Sep 2010

Lord Hodgson, chair of the government taskforce that is trying to reduce the level of red tape strangling...

NCVO calls for sector spending to remain 'neutral'

2 Sep 2010

NCVO has made its submission to the Treasury spending review, calling on the government to ensure the...

Graduate tax a 'disaster' for university fundraising

2 Sep 2010

The proposed ‘graduate tax’ on university alumni could have a devastating impact on the growing philanthropic...

Management change at Big Lottery Fund

1 Sep 2010

The Big Lottery Fund will see a shift in senior management by the end of the year, it has announced.

Online bullying specialist given closure reprieve

1 Sep 2010

Bullying UK will continue “for the next couple of months” after finding a number of potential funders...

Organisations' websites and social networks to fall under ASA rules

1 Sep 2010

Marketing messages on organisations’ own websites and non-paid-for material on social networks will...

Oxfam and Shelter share search marketing experience

24 Aug 2010

The Internet Advertising Bureau has teamed up with Oxfam and Shelter to offer a search marketing toolkit...

emailalert

Join the discussion

Twitter button
 
Training

Attending our one day courses is a highly effective way of ensuring new and existing trustees fully understand their role, responsibilities and liabilities.

>> Find out more <<