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Torfaen councillors take 2.45% pay boost

5:40pm Saturday 18th April 2009 in News Photograph of the Author By Alex Cinus

TORFAEN councillors accepted a pay rise despite opposition members putting forward an amendment to reject the proposal.

An increase of 2.45 percent for councillors' basic and special responsibility allowances was recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales.

The council agreed to implement the proposals in full in November 2008.

However at the council's last full meeting on March 31, Conservative councillor Graham Smith put forward an amendment to reject the pay rise.

Mr Smith said: "The council is facing financial difficulties like all local authorities at the moment.

"Therefore it seems wrong that councillors should be giving themselves a pay rise."

In a recorded vote members voted by 23 to 16 to reject Cllr Smith's amendment, with all Labour councillors, three Plaid Cymru councillors and three Independent councillors agreeing to the pay rise.

The three Plaid Cymru councillors have pledged the difference of their pay rise will be donated to the Tenovus charity.

Councillors will now get a basic allowance of £13,030 per year up from £12,718 and special responsibility allowances will vary from an extra £5,534 per year, up to an extra £27,679 for the leader.

The Leader of Torfaen council, Bob Wellington said: "The Independent Remuneration Panel are quite clear that the modern councillor role should be respected as a professional one requiring a significant amount of time for constituency business, which can be conducted at all times of the day and every day of the week.

"This may affect work opportunities and personal income and could be a deterrent when people consider whether to enter the political arena.

"The remuneration paid to councillors intends to strike a balance and ensure councillors broadly reflect the citizens they represent."

Comments(12)

big mamma says...
8:32pm Sat 18 Apr 09

Bob Wellington states 'The remuneration paid to councillors intends to strike a balance and ensure councillors broadly reflect the citizens they represent." Is he alright in the head? The main body of Torfaen Cllrs do what they please regardless of what their 'citizens' say. Yet another case of Torfaen doing exactly what they shouldn't do but doing it anyway because it lines their own pockets

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sammyrogers says...
9:03pm Sat 18 Apr 09

this is the end pay rise that Labour/Plaid voted in. in total the have accepted a 4.9% pay rise in a few months. The argus ought to have written that in the story. 4.9%!!
who give plaid the right to say they gonna give OUR MONEY to charity, if i wanted to donate i would freely.NOT have you take if from the tax payers and justify it by saying its going to charity. You should have voted against it and None of you received it. well done lib dems, conservative, Independents and peoples voice for voting against it.

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Salem says...
12:22am Sun 19 Apr 09

UN-BELIEVABLE!!!YOU JUST CANT MAKE IT UP ANYMORE..IS THERE NO END TO THIS SOCIALIST BIG BROTHER NIGHTMARE WE ARE ALL SUFFERING...OINK! OINK! OINK! THEIR SNOUTS ARE DEEP IN THE TROUGH!!

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A Blaenafon Voice says...
3:02am Sun 19 Apr 09

Have any residents agreed to this payrise?

Nothing surprises me about this Council anymore. Those voting for this pay rise should be well publicised, named and shamed. How is it right that councillors get a payrise of almost 3 times inflation in these economic times. We now know where the council savings are going from knocking down Blaenafon Leisure centre and reducing/closing cafe services in Fairwater/Stadium.
Make no mistake this pay rise comes from LABOUR and PLAID CYMRU, remember these morale 'theives' next time an election arrives. Lets get rid of these party's for good....at least until decent people can represent residents of torfaen.

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philgwent says...
8:36am Sun 19 Apr 09

Nice to see the Torfaen Councillors are leading by example. Sadly they must be finding times hard,but at least they have a job which is more than can be said for many of the residents in Torfaen.

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Bobevans says...
10:17am Sun 19 Apr 09

No suprise there then. The greedy overpaid & underworked councillors are lining their pockets at our expense.

It not bad money for a few hours work a week.

It's time we reduced the number of local councillors by at least 50% and halved their pay.

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scampy says...
11:59am Sun 19 Apr 09

And let us look at the job history and earning power of some of these councilors who were quite happy to spend a lifetime in Girlings or Saunders valves without ever having run a business or made a real salary and who can point to anything they have ever done for the benefit of Torfaen residents other than animal farm which is their own little play thing.
People in Wales have been fooled for years by the likes of the now very rich" never had jobs" the unprincipled Kinnocks once members of CND until it became a bit difficult.
As the late Lord Sutch said, vote Monster Raving Looney Party you know it makes sense.

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wolvesfan says...
2:24pm Sun 19 Apr 09

I am really angry that Cllr Wellington can overspend in his dept, cut our services- especially lighting and then reward himself with a wage rise that is currently almost ten times the rate of inflation.

Surely he should be accepting a pay freeze in these hard pressed times and insisting his fellow robbing bas... soryy councillors do the same.

Two words, gravy train

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Orson Cart says...
4:41pm Sun 19 Apr 09

scampy wrote:
And let us look at the job history and earning power of some of these councilors who were quite happy to spend a lifetime in Girlings or Saunders valves without ever having run a business or made a real salary.

SCAMPY, WHY POINT FINGERS ONLY AT GIRLING OR SAUNDERS VALVE, WHY DO YOU SINGLE THEM OUT AND NOT OTHER COMPANIES, I THINK WE SHOULD BE TOLD?

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daiwa says...
6:23pm Sun 19 Apr 09

SHAME on YOU!!. No small wonder we have to suffer "CUT BACKS" in Services and RATE increases whilst you parasites dip your Snouts deeper into the "Trough".You are all tarred by the same GREEDY brush!!.

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The_Scourge says...
6:18am Mon 20 Apr 09

"The Leader of Torfaen council, Bob Wellington said: "The Independent Remuneration Panel are quite clear that the modern councillor role should be respected as a professional one..."

One would have thought that such "professionals" would possess at least elementary literacy and numeracy skills.

How can a councillor who cannot read or write and doesn't comprehend even basic mathematics be described as "professional"?

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Cllr Elizabeth Haynes says...
9:19am Mon 20 Apr 09

I applaud the comments above! I am one of the St Dials Councillors who voted against both pay rises. The first for 2.45% was from Jan 09, the 2nd was for another 2.45% from 1st April. (4.9% in just 3 months)
It saddens me that party politics seems to be in play here again.
For the record, ALL Labour, ALL plaid & the 2 Independents that sided with Labour in May, voted for this payrise, along with 1 other Blaenavon Councillor.

People in this Borough are losing their jobs, homes and businesses at the moment. It would have been morally wrong for me to vote for these 2 payrises, when all around, people are struggling to pay for basic necessities.

I am grossly dissapointed in those Councillors who voted to accept these 2 pay rises.

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