Postal Union leader receives 23% pay rise
The left-wing postal union leader behind calls for a national strike has received a 23% rise in his annual pay – 10 times the rate for the postmen he represents.
The increase for Billy Hayes, 40, a former postman from Liverpool who is now general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, is worth an extra £13,461 a year, more than the average annual pay of a postal delivery worker.
His latest pay packet, which has emerged in newly released accounts, rose to £72,210 in 2002. Hayes’s total package was worth £115,000 because the union also paid more than £40,000 into his pension.
His new deputy, Dave Ward, is also thought to be receiving a package worth more than £100,000, prompting accusations that the pair are benefiting from the very “fat cat” pay packages that their union has publicly disparaged.
Hayes claimed not to know how much he was paid, though the union files details to a government department. “I can’t remember but I didn’t think it was that much,” he said. Ward was unavailable for comment.
The union has launched high-profile attacks against executives at Royal Mail, including Alan Leighton, the chairman, and Adam Crozier, the chief executive, for their six-figure pay and bonus packages.
Tim Yeo, the Conservatives’ shadow trade secretary, criticised the pay rises.
“Union leaderships seem to be increasingly detached from commercial reality,” he said. “Pay rises and demands should reflect the slowdown in the global economy and lower inflation.
“I would urge Billy Hayes to think carefully before calling a strike because any action is potentially very harmful to the Royal Mail.”
Ward and Hayes, both members of the so-called “awkward squad” of militant union leaders, will hold informal talks with the Royal Mail to discuss their opposition to a pay offer to postmen worth 14.5% over 18 months.
Neither side is confident that the talks will be successful and the Royal Mail is already drawing up contingency plans to deal with a postmen’s strike – the first since 1996 – in mid-September. A ballot is expected to be called.
A national strike could prove catastrophic for the Royal Mail, which is already missing delivery targets and losing £750,000 a day.
