News - Uk
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss Stephen Hester is being urged to turn down a £963,000 bonus in shares awarded to him by the bank.
Liberal Democrat minister Jeremy Browne said Hester was "a public servant" and should reject the bonus offered by the 82% taxpayer-owned bank, while the Unite union said it was "disgusting".
RBS said Hester's bonus, which is far less than some predicted he would receive but comes on top of his £1.2m salary, reflected his "significant contribution...towards rebuilding RBS".
The Unite union said the bonus was "utterly disgusting and offensive" while the TUC described it as "utterly unacceptable".
The RMT's General Secretary Bob Crow said: "RBS is owned by the country. To give someone £1m and then to give them a massive bonus on top, while public sector workers get a pay freeze and their pension contributions go up, I have got to say that is a complete disgrace.
"What a kick in the face to those people who deliver a public service for our people in this country."
TUC leader Brendan Barber said the bonus was "a very bad decision", especially at a time of public sector pay restraint.
"To be told that a banker supposed to be working for the public service is to be made an exception with this huge increase, it's utterly unacceptable."
RBS has announced thousands of job cuts, although it recorded a £2bn profit in its most recent trading period, compared with a £1.6bn loss in the same period in 2010.
Categories: UK | Regulation
Topics: Rbs
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Stephen Hester could yet get kudos
I could suggest a compromise: Let him take his bonus but then announce he is either giving it to charity (gift-aided of course!), or else setting up the 'Stephen Hester Foundation' with it as a starting contribution for some agreed charity works. Bill Whatnot of Microsoft did this, as do other wealthy Americans. About time some of our people with more money than they can sensibly spend on themselves started to do the same. They could then receive large bonuses without rancour PROVIDED they put them into their Foundations (set up of course so that neither they nor their families can benefit financially).
By the way, where are our crusading journalists who should be digging out facts just when we would like to know how much Stephen Hester is worth and how he spends his money? Maybe he is already a charity donor, tithing his tzedukah, perhaps? If so, this should be acknowledged so as to help rebalance opinions.
Posted by: Orlando Furioso
27 Jan 2012 | 13:43
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