From the
Daily Express:
NATIONAL RAIL AND LONDON UNDERGROUND UNION BARONS GET ^10K RISE AS WORKERS LOSE OUT
Union barons threatening to plunge thousands of Britons into transport misery have escaped the tough pay restraints being imposed on ordinary workers, it emerged yesterday.
Rail boss Bob Crow, whose union has just backed strikes on London Underground, and the general secretaries of Unite, which is threatening to shut down six airports, are receiving six-figure sums.
Mr Crow, of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, enjoyed a 12 per cent pay rise in the last calendar year. His basic pay jumped almost ^10,000 from ^84,923 in 2008 to ^94,747 at the end of last year, according to RMT▸ figures. The overall package for the man known as Britain^s most militant union leader rose from ^122,167 to ^133,183. On top of this he claimed nearly ^10,000 in expenses and ^2,376 in travel costs, taking his total receipts to ^145,548.
It comes at a time when millions of workers have endured pay freezes and cuts.
The figures will also outrage passengers who have suffered travel disruption caused by the RMT and now fear Bank Holiday Tube chaos in the union^s latest dispute over jobs and safety.
Transport Minister Norman Baker said: ^Bob Crow talks about fairness but this self-styled man of the people should be judged by his actions. He seems more interested in feathering his own nest than working with Government to create an efficient cost-effective rail service.^
A spokesman for London Mayor Boris Johnson said: ^Anyone delivering public services in the current climate who thinks they deserve a double-digit pay rise is not living in the real world.^
The RMT said Mr Crow^s pay rise had been approved by members at the union^s annual general meeting ^to recognise his achievements in securing some very good pay and terms and conditions results^.
The spokesman added: ^In the view of our members, Bob Crow is worth every penny.^
Unite^s joint general secretaries Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley have also enjoyed steep pay increases in recent years, thanks to the merger of their two unions.
The union^s 2009 accounts show Mr Simpson^s basic salary was ^97,027, plus pension contributions of ^26,292 and other benefits worth ^56,102, making a total of ^179,421. This was slightly less than he received the previous year, and his basic pay is unchanged, but his 2008 pay package was a 20 per cent increase on 2007 when he received ^155,464 as the head of Amicus. Fellow Unite general secretary Tony Woodley received a total of ^123,754 in 2009, the union^s accounts showed, comprising basic pay of ^96,149, pension contributions of ^17,307 and other benefits of ^10,298. This was slightly up from 2008 when he got ^122,108, but that figure was itself a 30 per cent increase on 2007 when he received ^93,407 in salary and benefits, including a grace-and-favour flat in London as head of the Transport and General Workers Union.
The Trades Union Congress said yesterday that union leaders^ pay was a matter for the unions involved, providing they had ^democratic pay structures^ and published the figures.
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