BBC director general’s 16.6 per pay rise is “tone deaf and an insult” to staff
Tim Davie’s rise – worth £75,000 and taking his pay to £525,000 – is a massive insult to BBC staff who have experienced pay freezes, budget cuts and redundancies.
Michelle Stanistreet NUJ general secretary, said:
“NUJ members gave their all over the past 18 months to provide the best possible service to the public during the pandemic. Their reward was a pay freeze last year, and a below-inflation deal this year. This lavish bung for the director general, accompanied by briefings that try to justify his pay in relation to the so-called ‘market’, is tone deaf and represents an insult to staff whose remuneration is repeatedly approached through the prism of public sector constraints.
“This comes at a time the BBC is under sustained political attack. This decision has been taken against the backdrop of ongoing job cuts and restructures that are hitting frontline journalism and programming. With rumours over the summer that the government is planning a below inflation licence fee deal, this is wrongheaded, ill-timed and grossly unfair.”