Council hits back over pay claims

NEW figures show 270 staff from Oldham Council were paid in excess of £50,000 in 2011-12.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance figures include 134 teachers — individual schools set their own play levels — and redundancy payments.

Excluding the latter, 221 staff were paid over £50,000 - 132 of them teachers.

But over the past two years the council has reduced senior management costs by £3million as staff have left the authority and services restructured.

Councillor Abdul Jabbar, Cabinet member for finance, said: “The Taxpayers’ Alliance acknowledges we are significantly reducing management costs.

“All council employees, including senior managers, have had a pay freeze since 2009 and we have made further savings of more than £1m a year by asking all workers to take three days’ unpaid leave.

“It is misleading for the data to include redundancy payments as remuneration, because it implies people are being paid the quoted amounts - whereas in reality people may have lost their job.”