Thousands of ScotRail workers denied bonuses – except fat cat bosses

THOUSANDS of ScotRail workers have been denied an annual bonus – but their fat cat bosses are getting one.

Following a torrid year for Scotland’s railways marked by months of poor service, nearly 5,000 frontline staff have been told franchise holder Abellio can’t afford the pay-outs for 2016.

However, the man who was in charge during the entire shambolic year, Phil Verster, is banking a bonus.

The South African, who has just left his managing director post at ScotRail, will take home a bonus worth up to £50,000.

ScotRail, which insists it has reinvested all of the profit it has made into the service, last night refused to say if any of its other board members picked up a bonus last year.

But critics last night slammed move as “one rule for the managers and another rule for everyone else”.

Mick Hogg, Scottish organiser of the RMT union said: “It tells you everything that’s wrong with the rail industry when the guy in charge was due a big bonus but the staff on the frontline got nothing.

“We and the other rail unions said to them, ‘Look, if you really can’t pay out on the bonus scheme, how about a £50 shopping voucher for each of the staff as a small token of thanks for everything you do in often very difficult circumstances.’

“But they couldn’t even do that – what a terrible way to treat your workforce.”

Kevin Lindsay, Scotland organiser for train driver union ASLEF, said: “It is an absolute joke.

“It appears to be one rule for the managers and another rule for everyone else.”

When Abellio took over the franchise it promised the 5,000-strong workforce that it would introduce a financial reward scheme known as ‘gain share’.

This sees employees handed a bonus, expected to be an average of £500 per employee, if Abellio hits its profits target.

The Dutch-owned firm told workers last week that it had not hit its targets as a result of months of poor performance caused by strikes and engineering works so was not paying out, but was going to change the rules for 2017 so a bonus is paid so long as the firm does not make a loss.

However, as frontline workers miss out on the bonus for 2016, the man who led them through 2016 will not because he was not employed by Abellio, but by the publically-owned track operator Network Rail.

As The Sunday Post revealed earlier this year, Phil Verster was one of 12 members of Network Rail’s executive committee who shared a bonus pot of £500,826 in 2015/16.

The amount the South African received has not been disclosed but the maximum bonus for committee members is 20% of salary so he could have banked up to £50,000.

For 2016/17, Mr Verster – who announced he was leaving ScotRail in January – will also be in line for the same bonus deal if he meets a number of Network Rail-set targets.

A breakdown of the franchise payments shows how potentially lucrative the ScotRail deal is for Abellio.

According to Transport Scotland’s accounts Abellio ScotRail was paid £293.4m in 2015/16.

A breakdown of what is due to be paid in future years shows £246.7m is due in the following year, while £291.6m is due in the 12 months following.

A Transport Scotland analysis then shows Abellio is due to be paid £1.1 billion in franchise payments between the second and fifth year of the deal.

The vast majority of this cash is used to subsidise fares or paid to track operator Network Rail for access to the railway network.

The latest available accounts filed at Companies House show Abellio ScotRail made £9.5 million after tax during its first nine months running Scotland’s rail network.

A ScotRail Alliance spokesman added: “2016 was a challenging year which had an impact on our profits, all of which, it should be made clear, are reinvested in the railway.

“We’re currently focussing in the areas that will deliver the best results for our customers; including £475m in the biggest investment since the Victorian era, delivering more seats and faster journey times for passengers.”

On the executive bonus scheme, he added: “We do not comment on our executive team’s remuneration.”