Union calls for halt to rail bonus

The UK government was yesterday urged to halt a new bonus scheme for Network Rail (NR) executives which a union complained would give performance payments of 60 per cent on top of their salaries.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) urged transport secretary Philip Hammond to scale back the new scheme, claiming that NR chief executive Dave Higgins could earn a bonus of 336,000 on top of his annual salary of 560,000.

The new scheme will be put to a vote of NR's members at a meeting today, which the TSSA claimed was going ahead despite calls from some members for it to be delayed to give them more time to consider the details.

TSSA general secretary Gerry Doherty said: "We think 60 per cent is better than the 100 per cent that Iain Coucher (former chief executive] used to award himself every year but is still far too generous for running what is in effect a public utility largely funded by the taxpayer."

A spokesman for NR said: "Having an executive incentive scheme is essential to ensure that the company can attract and retain top talent."