Monday 30 January 2012

Time for the return of Robin Hood


The CEO of RBS, Stephen Hester, has finally decided to waive his bonus worth almost a million pounds ($1.6 million), the bank said on Sunday, after the handout angered millions of people who are having to bear the brunt of the government austerity measures.


A spokesman for the partly state-owned bank (83%) said Mr Hester would “no longer be taking the bonus”, which was awarded at a time when most workers are suffering wage freezes, sub-inflation rises or worse.

Gareth Osborne said: “Under pressure the bank has been ‘forced’ to waive the payment but no-one has yet said what will happen to the equivalent value (in shares or cash) which the bank could clearly afford to make available.”

“In an earlier [small] business, when times were hard, we invoked a ‘Robin Hood’ bonus scheme We calculated a total payment pot and then divided it so that junior staff received a 10% bonus and senior staff received just 1%; taking from the richer and giving to the poorer. It worked, it attracted considerable goodwill amongst the team and motivation soared. It’s a shame that high paid bankers can’t remember what its like to have to grovel for a loan!

APA

No comments: