NI Conservatives’ finance spokesman, Harry Cullen, has expressed concern that the number of council staff earning over £50,000 is going up in Northern Ireland, while the number is falling in the rest of the UK.
“While low paid staff in the public sector and most people in the private sector have been suffering, the number of big earners on council payrolls is going up”, Harry said. “This is an extremely worrying trend, particularly at a time when we’re supposed to be making local government less costly, by merging councils in Northern Ireland.”
“The fact that more duties are being added to people’s job descriptions to boost salaries is a worry. Many people in Northern Ireland simply don’t see the extra services which are supposed to justify these high wages. Local authorities and the executive have a responsibility to ensure fairness for their low paid workers and people in the private sector who are being left behind.”