Cash-strapped Glasgow Council has shelled out over £6m in golden goodbye payments for staff while slashing services. The sum is the largest amount in ten years and works out at an equivalent of £62,284 per person.
It came after we revealed the council had drafted in a KC to probe massive pension boosts to the retiring chief executive and other senior staff.
The SNP-led local authority has had to fill several budget black holes through service cuts and selling flagship buildings. But a freedom of information request reveals the spiralling cost of “loss of office” payments for staff who have retired early or whose posts were made redundant.
The data, which covers a decade, shows over £1m was paid in 2017 to just nine staff while the figure for 26 employees in 2020 was £1.8m. These these figures were dwarfed by the massive £6.3m paid out last year to 102 individuals.
GMB Scotland, one of the biggest public sector trade unions, said severance payments for highly-paid officials are impossible to justify.
John Slaven, the GMB organiser in the council, said: “This is money that should be protecting the staff and services that Glaswegians rely on every day. Last year, services were savaged, our members had to threaten strike action to get a fair pay offer and low-paid colleagues forced to retire because of ill-health had to fight to get the pension they were entitled to.
“The suggestion that, while councillors insist there is no money to protect services and staff, executives are quitting with huge but unjustifiable cheques is obscene and demands urgent investigation.”
Tory MSP Alexander Stewart said: “These payments will stick in the throat of hard-pressed taxpayers.
“Savage SNP cuts to council budgets mean that Glaswegians are paying more, but getting less in return as vital services are axed or severely slashed.
“This culture at the SNP-led council, who should be focused on delivering value for taxpayers, should be curtailed.”
A council spokesman said: “A significant number of staff have left or are scheduled to leave the council’s employment as part of ongoing service reform projects. Voluntary redundancies always come at an initial cost, but are designed to deliver ongoing savings.”
The Record revealed last week that the council had brought in lawyers investigate six figure exit deals for staff in former CEO Annemarie O’Donnell’s department.
Four packages are being examined, including O’Donnell receiving a £357,845 contribution to her pension. Elaine Galletly, former Director of Legal and Administration, also benefited from a £223,065 pension contribution and £59,971 for “compensation for loss of office”.
SNP council leader Susan Aitken and Treasurer Ricky Bell did not know about the deals and were angry when they heard.
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