UK NEWS
ROCK STAFF'S £8.8M PAYOUT FROM TAXPAYER
Northern Rock: Staff payout
By Mark Reynolds
STATE-OWNED Northern Rock is paying all its staff an £8.8million bonus funded by the taxpayer, it emerged yesterday.
Thousands of workers at the nationalised bank will get bonuses equal to a 10th of their salaries – and their bosses could get more.
The huge payouts averaging £2,200 each are part of a £5million windfall the company is paying to itself using taxpayers’ money.
Shareholders who lost life savings, householders who lost their homes and most political parties yesterday condemned the move as cynical and insensitive.
Robin Ashby, a member of the Northern Rock Small Shareholders Group, whose members lost millions when the value of the bank’s stock crashed, said: “It’s insensitive at the least and pretty disgraceful whichever way you dress it up.
“Many people have lost shares, 2,000 bank staff have lost their jobs and customers have lost their homes.”
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It’s insensitive at the least and pretty disgraceful whichever way you dress it up.
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Gordon Brown, who agreed to lend the bank £26.9billion of taxpayers’ money to stay in business, refused to condemn the handouts yesterday.
When his spokesman was asked if the Prime Minister approved, he replied: “Operational decisions such as this are a matter for Northern Rock.” But the bumper payments, in tomorrow’s pay packets for almost 4,500 members of staff, provoked fury elsewhere.
Lib Dem treasury spokesman Vince Cable said it was “outrageous” that staff on average salaries of £22,000 were being rewarded just for doing their jobs.
“This is importing into a publicly owned enterprise the worst of the bonus culture of the city and it should be the job of the treasury director to stamp it out,” he said. Philip Hammond, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said the Government’s boast of a crackdown on the bonus culture sounded hollow.
The payments have been triggered automatically by a Government-approved formula which rewards bank bosses and staff if the Treasury’s loan is repaid quickly.
More than £15billion has already been handed back and the balance should be settled well ahead of the scheduled target of December 31, 2010.
If the trend continues, it will trigger another 10 per cent bonus at the end of next year, followed by a 15 per cent payment if the loan in finally settled on time.
When Northern Rock returns to the private sector every worker will get an extra 25 per cent.
There are fears Northern Rock is pushing home repossessions through faster so it can pay off the Government loan more quickly.
Chris Tapp, director at Credit Action, said: “At one point Northern Rock was accountable for a fifth of all repossessions that were taking place.”
Union Unite, which represents staff, said the bonuses were fair recognition of their “hard work and dedication”.
STRANGE COINCIDENCE?
22.01.09, 8:00pm
Is there a link between this headline and the fact that now Northern Rock has been nationalised (owned by the government. not the tax payer as some may argue) that Northern Rock is top of the list of banks agressively repossessing the homes of those who fall behind with their mortgage payments by only a couple of months?......I think there is ,the government has been trying to destroy private home ownership ever since is came in in 1997 ,and is doing so under the smoke screen of the current financial web of lies.
• Posted by: jonG • Report Comment
MORE MONEY REQUIRED
22.01.09, 7:36pm
These bonus payments should be cancelled, and the money used to help Northern Rock's struggling customers.
Mind you Gordo and Alistair will be ready to throw more money at the banks to fund their bonuses.
• Posted by: robred • Report Comment
HUBRIS!
22.01.09, 6:59pm
Some prat on another thread said "It's only a months wages, you whingers". Well I'd personally like to administer some respect to the TAX PAYER by this buffon with the aid of a baseball bat.....
• Posted by: wiggins • Report Comment
ROCK STAFF'S £8.8M PAYOUT FROM TAXPAYER
22.01.09, 2:39pm
Rewarding abject failure is simply the way of the New Labour incompetence Party. Therefore Northern Rock is only following the example set by the Government.
Examples like Kinnock, one of the most failed Politicians ever (including his spell in the EU) - Rewarded for failure by being given a Peerage.
Twice resigned Mandelson - was never kicked out but rewarded for his misdemeanours by a Plum Job in the EU and then a subsequent Peerage.
There are many many others that you will no doubt bring to mind.
• Posted by: EmperorMing • Report Comment
BONUS FRENZY
22.01.09, 2:11pm
Bonus culture must stop.
It is bonus frenzy which has caused this terrible economic mess.
Bonuses in the financial sector should be paid in company bonds, or shares, redeemable in 5 years time.
In that way, the lethal "in and out quick" behaviour we have seen will end.
The future of the company will be more important than your personal bonus...ensuring stability.
It also gives us a chance to see whether any "profits" are real.....not just creative accounting on which to pocket a nice fat bonus.
• Posted by: stevewo • Report Comment
ROCK STAFF'S £8.8M PAYOUT FROM TAXPAYER.
22.01.09, 1:05pm
Terrorism, intimidation / bullying. Idi Amin,
Zimbabwe, Rock, BBC, Johnathon Ross brigade,.... £8.8m please don't make me laugh. The ranks / events are swelling, swelling so that something must give.
Democracy, a misnomer.
Foolishness not strong enough.
Blind....! None so blind as those that cannot see.
• Posted by: juan01 • Report Comment
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