Council chippy bonus defended by workers

Carpenters today defended the council chippy who earned more than £22,000 in bonuses in just one year – but revealed he could have pocketed more if he was self employed.

Despite working erratic hours and overtime, the Cannock Chase Council employee still only pulled in the "average wage" of a nine-to-five carpenter and it was still a lot cheaper than bringing in an outside contractor, it was said. The Express & Star yesterday revealed how the chippy raked in £22,467 in bonuses on top of his basic wage of £14,721.

Ian Carter, the owner of Stafford-based iCarpentry, said today paying one worker £22,000 to take on a lot of extra work would be cheaper for the council rather than bringing in a private firm.

Mr Carter, of Vaughan Way, said tradesmen could usually make much more money working for themselves, but were attracted to jobs with local authorities because of the stability.

He said: "It would probably cost the council more to get people in – instead of that £22,000, you might be looking at £40,000."

Mr Carter added wages varied between around £80 and £120 per day for self-employed carpenters.

Another Wolverhampton carpenter, who did not want to be named, said: "Even with all his overtime that worker only pulled in £36,000. It's not like he's one of the fat cats who do nothing."

Robert Shenstone, from Beaver Woodwork Service, based in Charlotte Street, Walsall, said: "It seems quite a lot, but with a basic salary of under £15,000, if he didn't get the bonuses he'd be on the breadline."

Martin Hill, a carpenter from Pelsall Lane, Rushall, added: "If he's done lots of emergency calls and bank holidays, that figure is not really out of the ordinary."

Yesterday, the Express & Star revealed taxpayers were shelling out millions of pounds in bonuses for council staff. Sandwell Council paid out more than £2 million from 2007 to 2008 and Walsall Council made payments ranging from £1 to £13,000. Wolverhampton City Council does not offer bonuses to any of its workers.