Forum Topic

Fat Cat salaries for Bankrupt TfL staff

"The number of Transport for London staff earning more than £100,000 a year has increased by nearly 100 to 557 since the Labour mayor took office four years ago. The bill for the six-figure salaries has risen by 15.8 percent or £10million to £73million over the period, said Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate in next year’s mayoral election."If this is fact, it's outrageous.

Loraine Pemberton ● 2191d19 Comments

I wonder how that compares to any other large organisations? TFL has 28,000 permanent employees meaning that under 2% earn a senior management salary.

Paul Scullion ● 2191d

Good question, but TfL is badly run - think Crossrail which is not only way behind schedule but also well over budget. TfL have been in dire financial trouble for some time, long before the Covid-19 crisis.

Loraine Pemberton ● 2191d

I would rather know how many new heads have been employed in the last 1-2 years on 100k+ and the roles they fill,especially when its been running dry well before covid. Sean Bailey said “The worst part is that Sadiq Khan doesn’t even seem to realise.“He told Parliament that he cut the number of TfL staff earning over £100,000 — when in reality he increased it by nearly one hundred people.“Whether he lied to Parliament or whether he just can’t manage TfL efficiently, Londoners deserve better.”A spokeswoman for Mr Khan said: "The Tory candidate is once again taking Londoners for fools.“Sadiq has been clearing up the Tories' financial mess on TfL and before the pandemic hit, he'd reduced TfL’s deficit by over £1billion. Well, if you use google in the correct way with wording and dates you can go back well before  the pandemic hit. While we all like fares kept low or freezed its said back in 2018 for instance the following “Estimates that the Mayor’s current fares freeze will cost around £640 million over the four-year Mayoral term, combined with delays to the opening of Crossrail, have compounded the problems.“TfL is in choppy waters and a calm captain is required to steer the organisation through the coming years.“This is exactly why the Budget and Performance Committee is asking TfL to publish how much a second fares freeze for the next Mayoral term would cost, as soon as possible.“Londoners and visitors deserve affordable travel but crowd-pleasing policies must be properly costed, due to the serious implications they will have on the future financial viability of TfL.”

Julian Pavey ● 2191d

"Good question, but TfL is badly run..."How so, in your professional opinion?"TfL have been in dire financial trouble for some time, long before the Covid-19 crisis."Wrong. TfL has reduced its operating deficit by 71 since Boris left.Should TfL workers be paid less than those who work in the private sector, Loraine?

Dave Smith ● 2191d

"TfL have been in dire financial trouble for some time, long before the Covid-19 crisis.""Wrong. TfL has reduced its operating deficit by 71 since Boris left"  Reducing past deficit or reducing total deficit   Where has that saving gone?

Julian Pavey ● 2191d

The Mayor 2017  "TfL estimates that my Hopper ticket will reduce fares revenue by £43m per year but will also encourage additional travel, so the net reduction is currently estimated to be approximately £30m per year" "I am delighted with the success of my new Hopper fare with over 50m journeys now made.""The difference between the two figures you quote are for the periods they cover""£30m is the estimated cost over a year, which continues to hold""£18m is the estimated cost in 2016/17 over the seven months from launch in September 2016 to the end of March 2017" As i said,we all like savings but what is being shafted for that saving and that is just the hopper fare. Lack of investment or investment in infrastructure scrapped or put back 2-4 years. The pot is empty now and while covid has played a major part in that its not all down to covid,it goes back years. Not sure whats happened in the last year but i allways think of that piccadilly line upgrade

Julian Pavey ● 2191d

Reduction of its yearly operating deficit. London is the poor relation when it comes to government grants. As for where the saving has gone, surely you don't need an answer to that one, but here's a clue: running a network which saw 95% of its customer base stay at home doesn't cost in.

Dave Smith ● 2191d

"Crossrail is Britain's biggest infrastructure project in decades. The total cost was previously estimated at £17.6bn but has risen to as much as £18.25bn, from an initial budget of £14.8bn.8 Nov 2019"You think the above fact demonstrates TfL's excellence in budgeting and planning  ?

Loraine Pemberton ● 2191d

But that is march to october which drained the piggy bank ,what comes before those dates as a balance sheet. Think that is more the question most people will be questioning while fully understanding the recent answer

Julian Pavey ● 2191d

The biggest infrastructure project in Europe isn't it?  It was a joint project between the Department of Transport and TfL.  You just seem to not like Sadiq Khan. You consistently avoid mentioning any of the Ministers of Transport also involved.Here's 2017:https://www.thestructuralengineer.info/news/london-s-crossrail-the-largest-construction-project-ever-undertaken-in-europeIt is very difficult with such a complicated scheme to expect to know ahead of time all the problems that will be encountered.   

Philippa Bond ● 2191d

Government support yes,not employ implement and run which is the Mayors responsibility. The boss one could say "You just seem to not like Sadiq Khan" That old chesnut,atleast a reason why was not used this time round. Maybe just maybe  he is not very good at his job but good at PR and blaming everyone else. That rings a bell with many, unfortunatley his opposition is very week and still unkown to many. Bit like Ed Davey,unknown to most people

Julian Pavey ● 2191d

Doing your daily tasks very v e r y,  v e r y,  s l o w l y so that you have to work overtime, at overtime rates  or even better if you run that into weekend nightime rates, to get the job finished is the way.  It happens and is tolerated by many utility firms, buses etc.  The managers take home half the pay of these crafty unionised not-workers!

Jennifer Selig ● 2191d

"TfL have been in dire financial trouble for some time, long before the Covid-19 crisis". If you're trying to suggest that financial control under Khan has been more lax than under Johnson, TFL's financial statements simply don't support your argument. In 2015/16, the year in which Khan superseded Johnson, net income was £978.8m, net assets were £25,236.1m, and cash & cash equivalent was £152.1m. In 2019/20, despite the impact of the pandemic in the last few weeks of the period, net income was £3110.4m, net assets had risen to £27961.5m, and cash was £1566.8 million. That doesn't suggest profligacy in the last four years. Bear in mind as well that TFL lost a £700m central government grant in the meantime.

Robert Fish ● 2191d

Just out of curiosity how much has Brexit cost us so far?Not to mention; Dido Harding, Chris Grayling, Dominic Cummings..........?...and the Tories always say "You have to pay high salaries to get the top people"?

Martin Weaver ● 2190d

£3.5bn without conditions was handed to privatised rail companies to bail them out during the pandemic.  How many other privatised companies have been bailed out from the public purse?

Philippa Bond ● 2190d

In the dark-art of pejorative phraseology, the term “fat-cat”, once so colourful and full of promise, is fast losing its sting.What, or who, is a fat-cat nowadays?Read the Mirror and he's some filthy rich nob from the private sector who spends his weekends fox-hunting, takes home at least twenty times more than the Prime Minister and pays his staff peanuts.Read the Mail and he's a cream-licking numbskull from the public sector or trades union movement, heading-up some over-staffed, profligate, badly run empire whilst filling his boots with shedloads of undeserved dosh and an overflowing pension more eye-watering than Niagara Falls.Or he's a fat banker trousering an annual seven figure bonus.  Or he's an entrepreneur based in some far-away tax-haven.  Or he's plain Joe anybody with a dodgy knighthood, an estate in Norfolk, a grousemoor in Yorkshire, two Bentleys, a vintage Ferrari and a pink Range Rover alongside a loud wife with cream all over her face.Fat-cat has become an overused wild blunderbuss of a pejorative phrase.  Sucked dry by the tabloids....

Stuart Kerr ● 2190d

Hah, good one Stuart.

Basil Finnis ● 2190d

“Despite providing the private rail operating companies with 18 months of funding with no conditions attached, the Government has refused to give TfL more than a six-month deal and even this has come with conditions.”https://www.london.gov.uk//press-releases/mayoral/mayor-reaches-deal-on-tfl-fundingSix-month deal means £1.8 billion of Government grant and borrowing made available on current projections to Transport for London (TfL) to keep services running until March 2021  Mayor rejects government plans for huge extension of the Congestion Charge zone, scrapping free travel for older and younger Londoners and increasing TfL fares by more than previously agreed  Transport for London to make £160m of savings this financial year, and City Hall will need to raise additional income to protect concessions for older and younger Londoners for future years - if the Mayor wants to continue these Mayor says deal is ‘not ideal’ but adds that he fought hard against the Government’s determination to punish London

Martin Weaver ● 2189d

Good to see that the government settlement with TfL has preserved funding  for active travel programmes in councils. The £20M referred to here is additional funding from the DfT - they haven’t yet announced how this is being allocated.“ g. Commits to set aside at least £75m within the H2 Funding Period to continue the delivery of healthy streets and active travel programmes including funding for the London Boroughs under the local implementation plan process. Within this funding, TfL will prioritise the urgent delivery and operation of a temporary walking and cycle ferry as a replacement crossing for local communities affected by the closure of Hammersmith Bridge. For the avoidance of doubt these commitments are separate to any further funding to be allocated from the DfT Emergency Active Travel Fund for which bids totalling £20m are currently submitted.”

Michael Robinson ● 2189d