Mike welcomes tough action on senior civil service bonuses

The scrapping of extravagant pay bonuses for senior civil servants working in the Welsh Government has today been backed by Swansea East Assembly Member Mike Hedges.

The decision, which was taken by Labour Ministers in the Welsh Government, will see the department become the first in the UK to scrap bonus payments for senior civil servants.  

The scrapping of pay bonuses comes in light of criticism over the past two years of bonuses of around £7,000 being paid to a small number of senior managers in the civil service, while the rest of the workforce was enduring a pay freeze.

Commenting on the decision, Swansea East AM Mike Hedges said:

“At a time when many hard working people are feeling the squeeze due to the rising cost of living, it can’t be fair that a select few of already well paid civil servants are entitled to extravagant bonuses, while the rest of the public sector faces a pay freeze.

“I’m delighted that the Welsh Government is leading the way by taking decisive action on pay bonuses in an effort to make the Welsh civil service pay system fairer and more consistent.    

“If we are really ‘all in this together’, then let’s hope that the UK Government follows suit and rolls out the scrapping of bonus payments to their Whitehall departments as soon as possible.” 

Margaret Thomas, UNISON Cymru/Wales Secretary, said:

“UNISON welcomes the decision take by the Welsh Government regarding pay bonuses within the Welsh Government. In UNISON’s view, a system that rewards only those at the top is unjust and impacts on staff morale in the wider workforce.

“The majority of public sector workers, including those in the civil service, are currently experiencing a long term pay freeze and many are struggling to make ends meet.

“Ultimately, we believe that the entire public sector workforce should be awarded a rise in pay that allows them to meet the ever increasing costs of living. Just rewarding those at the top with bonuses will do nothing to help the hard-working majority, which is why we support the Welsh Government’s approach.”