Fife Council challenged on staff earning £50,000 or more

Linda Holt wants the local authority to give a full breakdown of the high earners, and the costs associated with early retirement packages – and compare it with other Scottish councils.

Her comments came after the weekend publication of a report which showed that Fife was one of the areas which oversaw the highest salary rises in 2017-18.

The figures were contained in the local authority annual accounts.

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Council staff across Scotland earning £50,000 went up by 135 at a time of stringent budget cuts.

Along with Aberdeen, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire, Fife was listed among the biggest rises.

Now Cllr Holt, deputy leader of Fife’s Conservative Group, has called for full disclosure.
She said: “While other Councils have reduced the number of officers on high salaries, Fife has increased its numbers, with 57 more on lucrative £50,000-plus deals, the largest increase in Scotland, with two more on £80,000-plus and one more in the £100,000 bracket. “
She added: “The SNP and Labour coalition haw slashed services in education, health and social care, roads and environment, at the same time as raising Council Tax, council rent and the price of other paid-for council services. Meanwhile it looks as if it has been quietly bumping up the salaries of managers responsible for organising their “pay more, get less” budget.

“This is not the inevitable result of restructuring as experience at other councils shows. “
She said she was asking the council to publish full details on managers’ salary levels for the last three years, plus the cost of early retirement packages, compared to the same at councils elsewhere in Scotland.

Cllr Holt added: “We need to be confident that the administration has done all it could to put its own financial house in order before asking ordinary Fifers to pay more for less.”

Sharon McKenzie, the council’s head HR, said the increase in numbers includes 47 employees who left during the year.

“They appear as a result of their redundancy or early retirement costs,” she said.