Kris
FAAFOI

State Services Spokesperson

11 December 2014 MEDIA STATEMENT

Big bickies for bosses despite subpar performance

While public service workers are experiencing Grinch-like wage increases state sector bosses have pocketed early Christmas presents in the form of whopper pay hikes, Labour’s State Services spokesperson Kris Faafoi says.

“Unbelievably State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie got an additional $50,000.

“This is the man who just yesterday apologised for the way he handled a complaint about former CERA boss Roger Sutton and who has been warned by State Services Minister Paula Bennett that he’ll lose his job if he slips up again.

“Ironically Mr Sutton also got a nice little top-up - $30,000 – as did the head of the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, who has overseen extravagant and unnecessary spending in the Ministry.

“And it gets worse - the head of the Prime Minister’s own department, Andrew Kibblewhite, who was involved in the Sutton press conference debacle, got a $70,000 salary rise.

“Increases for chief executives and government ministers are backdated plus they get cost of living adjustments.

“Core state sector staff get none of those add-ons. And while their bosses got pay rises of up to 20 per cent, the annual growth in the average hourly earnings of ordinary workers was just 1 per cent, a 19-year low.

“It is typical of this Government that those at the top continue to get the cream while the performance of some has been less than stellar years,” Kris Faafoi said.

ENDS

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