(With thanks for their sign to the Fat Cat ” free mouse” pub in Ipswich.)

“The TaxPayers’ Alliance came to national prominence for exposing high pay and expenses abuse in the public sector and they have, today, turned their attention to the trade union movement.

The TPA finds that 37 trade union leaders take home pay of £100,000 or more. Derek Simpson of Unite is the fattest union fat cat with remuneration of £186,626.
The total pay of the union leaders earning over £100,000 was over £4.6 million in 2009-10 (up 5.4% in just one year).
Taxpayers are indirectly paying for the brothers’ top salaries. Last week we published TPA research which found that trade union organisers were being funded by us at the cost of £67 million per year. Matthew Sinclair of the TPA commented:

“Trade unions leaders are fighting necessary spending cuts and plan disruptive strikes that are against the public interest. These union fat cats claim to speak for workers but it looks hypocritical when they take home whopping salaries at the same time as they criticise high pay elsewhere. Worse still, the union coffers that their pay comes from are boosted by millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, which makes it easier for them to offer these generous pay packets.”

By Tim Montgomerie

N.B. from Penstorm

These figures, of course, only represent those which are publicly declared. The hidden takings which accrue to these union leaders are less visible and not accounted for. For men who lead their low-paid followers into battles which can destroy the footsoldiers, trousering more booty than the Prime Minister is just for starters …

Publicly  funded Union barons’ hypocritical exploitation of workers’ courage and loyalty can be simply, if not easily, reformed. On the other hand, how can governments take steps to staunch the poisonous greed of the privately remunerated bankers and their ilk? There will always be shameless parasites on the common purse, but must taxpayers also underpin gross bonuses by bailing out individuals who cause financial disasters? Social harmony would be restored if  fatcats from every alley were put on trial, sentenced and shamed.