GTFPDQ
11-12-2009, 02:04 AM
MoD bonuses 'will anger troops'
Troops kneel as a Chinook helicopter takes off in the background
Critics say a helicopter shortage is undermining UK forces' operations
Troops in Afghanistan will be angry to discover that Ministry of Defence civil servants earned bonuses totalling more than £47m this year, Conservatives say.
Defence minister Kevan Jones revealed the figure in a written reply to a Tory parliamentary question.
Some relatives of soldiers, who claim troops are poorly equipped, branded the performance-related bonuses "obscene".
The MoD says 50,000 staff got bonuses under previously arranged pay deals, averaging less than £1,000 each.
A spokesman said: "These pay awards are met from within salary budget and have no impact on the operational or equipment budget."
The spokesman added that the sum, paid between April and October, was not expected to increase significantly before the end of the financial year.
It is obscene they have got such bonuses while our troops are being short changed
Hazel Hunt, mother of fallen soldier
The MoD employs 85,000 civil servants - one for every two active armed forces personnel. Its figures showed a total of £287,809,049 had been paid out in bonuses since 2003 - the year Britain went to war in Iraq.
Shadow defence secretary Dr Liam Fox, who requested the figures, told the Daily Telegraph: "Many in the armed forces will be aghast that bonuses are being paid on the basis of 'outstanding performance'.
"This will only increase the view that the armed forces and the MoD administration are hugely out of balance."
In recent months, a leaked government report criticised the MoD's systems for buying equipment. Auditors have also criticised the department for wasting millions of pounds and having a payroll system that was inefficient and open to fraud.
'Not delivering'
Meanwhile, separate Commons committees have said helicopter shortages were undermining operations in Afghanistan and "inadequate" planning had led to a shortage of spare parts for vehicles and aircraft.
Ministers have insisted the procurement process has improved, that the army has sufficient helicopters but that more will be sent to bolster operations.
Hazel Hunt, whose 21-year-old son Richard - an army private - was killed in a blast while on vehicle patrol in August, said the MoD was "not delivering".
"It is obscene they have got such bonuses while our troops are being short changed; not only in equipment but also in the fact that my son was barely on £17,000 a year," she added.
The lowest-paid Army privates earn £16,681 a year, with a six-month tax-free operational allowance of £2,380 if they are posted to Afghanistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8356101.stm
total of £287,809,049 had been paid out in bonuses since 2003 - the year Britain went to war in Iraq.
WTF..... Some Squaddie somewhere is going to bleed, while these gutless fucks get a bonus.
Troops kneel as a Chinook helicopter takes off in the background
Critics say a helicopter shortage is undermining UK forces' operations
Troops in Afghanistan will be angry to discover that Ministry of Defence civil servants earned bonuses totalling more than £47m this year, Conservatives say.
Defence minister Kevan Jones revealed the figure in a written reply to a Tory parliamentary question.
Some relatives of soldiers, who claim troops are poorly equipped, branded the performance-related bonuses "obscene".
The MoD says 50,000 staff got bonuses under previously arranged pay deals, averaging less than £1,000 each.
A spokesman said: "These pay awards are met from within salary budget and have no impact on the operational or equipment budget."
The spokesman added that the sum, paid between April and October, was not expected to increase significantly before the end of the financial year.
It is obscene they have got such bonuses while our troops are being short changed
Hazel Hunt, mother of fallen soldier
The MoD employs 85,000 civil servants - one for every two active armed forces personnel. Its figures showed a total of £287,809,049 had been paid out in bonuses since 2003 - the year Britain went to war in Iraq.
Shadow defence secretary Dr Liam Fox, who requested the figures, told the Daily Telegraph: "Many in the armed forces will be aghast that bonuses are being paid on the basis of 'outstanding performance'.
"This will only increase the view that the armed forces and the MoD administration are hugely out of balance."
In recent months, a leaked government report criticised the MoD's systems for buying equipment. Auditors have also criticised the department for wasting millions of pounds and having a payroll system that was inefficient and open to fraud.
'Not delivering'
Meanwhile, separate Commons committees have said helicopter shortages were undermining operations in Afghanistan and "inadequate" planning had led to a shortage of spare parts for vehicles and aircraft.
Ministers have insisted the procurement process has improved, that the army has sufficient helicopters but that more will be sent to bolster operations.
Hazel Hunt, whose 21-year-old son Richard - an army private - was killed in a blast while on vehicle patrol in August, said the MoD was "not delivering".
"It is obscene they have got such bonuses while our troops are being short changed; not only in equipment but also in the fact that my son was barely on £17,000 a year," she added.
The lowest-paid Army privates earn £16,681 a year, with a six-month tax-free operational allowance of £2,380 if they are posted to Afghanistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8356101.stm
total of £287,809,049 had been paid out in bonuses since 2003 - the year Britain went to war in Iraq.
WTF..... Some Squaddie somewhere is going to bleed, while these gutless fucks get a bonus.