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Boris pledges to cut pay and bonus deals of top TfL managers
Pippa Crerar11.02.09
Boris Johnson today promised to review millions of pounds worth of bonuses paid out to senior Transport for London staff during the economic downturn.
The Mayor confirmed he would reconsider the cash payments - worth £2.9 million last year - as part of his efficiency savings at the Tube and bus body.
He acknowledged public frustration that 123 high-level TfL staff earned more than £100,000 a year, with many also raking in performance-related bonuses, while ordinary Londoners were struggling through the credit crunch.
His pledge comes as TfL's top management face mounting criticism for the almost total failure to provide bus and Tube service during last week's snowfall.
However, Mr Johnson told the London Assembly: "If you look at the satisfaction rates of both the Tube and the bus service they are extremely high.
"But I'm conscious of people's feelings. I understand where they're coming from and yes of course we are reviewing bonuses as well as the overall salary figures."
He added: "We are going through a programme of reducing the numbers of senior officials in TfL who are paid very considerable sums and I think that is what Londoners expect.
"We are making every effort to reduce the numbers out of the ranks of very senior TfL officials who are earning numbers in excess of £100,000."
However, the Mayor warned of the importance of TfL being able to attract the best civil engineers to work on major transport infrastructure projects like Crossrail.
"In the long term if you don't have good people then you will simply rack up more costs," he said.
Mr Johnson has announced savings of £2.4 billion in efficiencies at TfL over the next 10 years, including job cuts.
TfL is understood to have agreed to employ consultants to look at how further savings could be found, including examining pay structures and bonuses.
The Standard revealed last year that 123 TfL managers earned more than £100,000 each in 2007/8 - a total of more than £17 million in salaries and bonuses.
By contrast, the Treasury, responsible for the entire UK economy, had just 15 six-figure earners.
The top earner is believed to be former Transport Commissioner Bob Kiley, who made £540,000, with present chief Peter Hendy picking up between £425,000 and £450,000.
The average pay, benefits and bonuses of TfL's top management last year was £140,000 - £2,500 higher than the Mayor.
Fifteen TfL managers, including the director of marketing, earned more than the Prime Minister.
The Mayor has scrapped plans for £3 billion worth of new transport links across London, proposed by Ken Livingstone, because of lack of funding.
TfL will instead focus on upgrading existing Tube lines - which will provide a 28 per cent increase in capacity by 2018.
Reader views (14)
I have a personal experience with the PCO/TFL and how useless they are in protecting the legally licensed private hire operators from the Mafia that is taking millions of pounds out of our industry withut being being challenged by the Mayor's clan.Don't cut their wages, Get rid of them all I say, the sooner the better.
- Arabic Londoner, London
Johnson's claim that satisfaction ratings on the tube and bus are high is as great a fantasy as Brown's original denial of a recession and then wasting billions of taxpayers money on a fiasco that happened under the watch of his appointed banking watchdog Crosby. Johnson is so out of touch it is taken a newspaper to point out the pay of people like Kiley and Hendy who seem unable to deal with a bit of snow on the underground. What does Kiley the drunk do? Sack the top management.
- V Keller, London UK
Good on you, Boris! About time these fat cats got their troughs down-sized...anyway, how else is Boris's annual wage going to be increased to £125,000?
- Mike Kennedy, London, UK
Fair point-if you don't generate money/profits, then why do you get a bonus? What's t based on-official figures? Trains on time? Has anyone timed a 'London Underground minute?' If making complaints didn't require a long and arduous from taking 20 mins to fill out then you can bet those bonuses would be disappearing pretty fast.
- Ted, London UK
Who is he polling to get these positive satisfaction ratings from tube and bus users?
No one that I know thinks that the service is good!
- Bobby, London
They get paid like the rest of us and are expected to do the job they are paid to do for the money they get.bonuses are totally immoral and uncalled for.why should they get a bonus just for doing their job?
- Essexkid, Romford,essex
Well done boris.
- Neil, London
I agree with Anthony, all this self-regarding 'we have to pay this much, it's the going rate' is absolute drivel.
While certain private sector workers may well be worth £500k per year in a profit earning business, no public servant is worth that - certainly not a bunch of over-inflated bus conductors.
The chap on £540k, tell him his new offer is £140k, and if he doesn't like it he knows what he can do.
And why do some many public sector workers earn 'bonuses' anyway? Surely a bonus is for increasing company profits over and above your pre-determined target? Doing your job properly is what your salary is for...
- John, London
I presume these people are aware that there are nearly 2 million people out of work, and my guess is that there are some pretty clever and professional people looking for employment. I suggest Boris trolls around a few top end employment agencies.
Contracts aside, why is it not as simple as saying that they take a pay cut, of a considerable size or find an equivalent job elswhere, because London does not need them any more
- Anthony, West London
I mean this makes sense...no earnings then no bonuses...
- Andre, montagnola switzerland
I have heard that the monies paid to senior TfL managers is small when compared to the professional fees the directors and senior managers have signed off to their pet management and project management consultancies who the senior managers appear to use for decision making we the taxpayer are paying the managers to make and not consultants.
Along with the capital projects that were burning up taxpayers cash by being in continuous planning with no funding in place for delivery and the failure of Metronet, apparently parts of TfL are continuously but not very effectively being re-structured giving expensive repeat fees to consultants whilst causing painful disruption to employees.
- Mike, london
the big boys at tfl should appreciate that. the gravy train now stopping at zilch sidings has long been delayed by the wrong kind of attitude, but is now running on the right line and will be calling at all points
from plush offices to the labour exchange.
- M.O'Brien, london.uk
The crime is this:
If these greedy "free loaders" were faced with a stark choice work for half pay or lose your jobs, my bet would be that they would "SHUT UP AND PUT UP"!
Get on with it Boris, no one is worth £500,000 per year!
- George Dorman, gillingham
I'm amazed that Boris has the nerve to criticise anyody elses salary. It seems if anything is excessive then his part time salary is totally OTT and just sets a bad example to everybody else.
- R Hunt, Canterbury England
