Their salaries aren’t actually as high as high as I thought.
Kinda wish they’d put a bit more time into establishing what kind of issues each company has had with leaks (not just one token fact about a negative e.g. dumping raw sewage).
Can’t blame the companies for there being droughts (well, for lack of rain specifically) – but can absolutely blame them for wastage.
They’re leaking *billions* of litres a day between them, while asking us to turn our taps off.
Seems like they should be paying us.
> Bentley landed £2m in pay and bonuses last year. She held senior roles at the telecoms giant BT, the consultancy Accenture and Severn Trent Waterbefore joining Thames Water with a £3.1m “golden hello”, including two £727,000 one-off payments. Last year, the firm was fined £4m for discharging raw sewage in two Oxford streams.
What’s the point of giving Thames Water a fine of it doesn’t make them hurt. They fined them less than the hiring cost for 1 year of their latest CEO. FFS.
_The bosses of England’s privatised water companies have been criticised for banking £58m in pay and benefits over the last five years._
…which works out at around 17 pence per year per customer (on the basis that everyone is a ‘customer’). Or a little more than two years’ salary for Ronaldo.
Sure, you can argue that no-one should earn more than £x per year, but this really is a drop in the ocean.
The £72bn in dividends since privatisation is another matter; Christ knows how much it would cost to bring the infrastructure up to scratch, but I suspect even a tenth of that £72bn would put a significant dent in the problem.
Jesus people, you really don’t get this do you…
Water companies only exist to create profits for their share holders. They are just like McDonalds, Apple, Shell, Aramco or BP. They are succeeding in their primary objective which is to make a profit for their shareholders.
There is nothing in their remit about fixing leaks, keeping rivers clean or supplying water free from excessive nitrates and other chemicals. They only exist to make money.
These organisations will go as far as the law allows them to, and if it’s cheaper for them to flout the law and pay whatever fines are issued they will.
If a 5 or 10% rise in overall profits means the CEO gets paid £2m a year + whatever benefits, the system is working very much as it’s been designed to. The shareholders will reward profit with higher pay.
If you want to live in a world where shit like this doesn’t happen to our infrastructure and utilities – use your vote wisely and the next election.
“That’s the thing! We pay them in *water!*”
Higher than is reasonable, given their level of apathy and incompetence. CEOs should be paid a decent amount but CEOs seem set on doing the bare minimum once they get the job, there is no incentive for them to provide a great service when they know customers are basically locked into their service.
All of them from a business/finance background. Utilities directors should be well grounded in engineering, science, and the environment. These incompetent charlatans don’t have a clue about the companies they run except how to negotiate a larger bonus.
Don’t forget, no new reservoirs have been built since 1991 yet the population has grown by at least 10million in this period…
10 comments
Their salaries aren’t actually as high as high as I thought.
Kinda wish they’d put a bit more time into establishing what kind of issues each company has had with leaks (not just one token fact about a negative e.g. dumping raw sewage).
Can’t blame the companies for there being droughts (well, for lack of rain specifically) – but can absolutely blame them for wastage.
They’re leaking *billions* of litres a day between them, while asking us to turn our taps off.
Seems like they should be paying us.
> Bentley landed £2m in pay and bonuses last year. She held senior roles at the telecoms giant BT, the consultancy Accenture and Severn Trent Waterbefore joining Thames Water with a £3.1m “golden hello”, including two £727,000 one-off payments. Last year, the firm was fined £4m for discharging raw sewage in two Oxford streams.
What’s the point of giving Thames Water a fine of it doesn’t make them hurt. They fined them less than the hiring cost for 1 year of their latest CEO. FFS.
_The bosses of England’s privatised water companies have been criticised for banking £58m in pay and benefits over the last five years._
…which works out at around 17 pence per year per customer (on the basis that everyone is a ‘customer’). Or a little more than two years’ salary for Ronaldo.
Sure, you can argue that no-one should earn more than £x per year, but this really is a drop in the ocean.
The £72bn in dividends since privatisation is another matter; Christ knows how much it would cost to bring the infrastructure up to scratch, but I suspect even a tenth of that £72bn would put a significant dent in the problem.
Jesus people, you really don’t get this do you…
Water companies only exist to create profits for their share holders. They are just like McDonalds, Apple, Shell, Aramco or BP. They are succeeding in their primary objective which is to make a profit for their shareholders.
There is nothing in their remit about fixing leaks, keeping rivers clean or supplying water free from excessive nitrates and other chemicals. They only exist to make money.
These organisations will go as far as the law allows them to, and if it’s cheaper for them to flout the law and pay whatever fines are issued they will.
If a 5 or 10% rise in overall profits means the CEO gets paid £2m a year + whatever benefits, the system is working very much as it’s been designed to. The shareholders will reward profit with higher pay.
If you want to live in a world where shit like this doesn’t happen to our infrastructure and utilities – use your vote wisely and the next election.
“That’s the thing! We pay them in *water!*”
Higher than is reasonable, given their level of apathy and incompetence. CEOs should be paid a decent amount but CEOs seem set on doing the bare minimum once they get the job, there is no incentive for them to provide a great service when they know customers are basically locked into their service.
All of them from a business/finance background. Utilities directors should be well grounded in engineering, science, and the environment. These incompetent charlatans don’t have a clue about the companies they run except how to negotiate a larger bonus.
Don’t forget, no new reservoirs have been built since 1991 yet the population has grown by at least 10million in this period…