Bonus a slap in face for public

SENIOR public servants from the Department of Premier and Cabinet will head into Christmas with bonuses worth a total of more than $170,000.

Seventeen directors and managers have received $171,349 in bonuses, equal to 5 to 15 per cent of their annual wage up to early December.

Deputy Opposition Leader Jeremy Rockliff, right, said the bonuses were a slap in the face for Tasmanian workers.

"Premier Giddings talked tough when she imposed a 2 per cent cap on wages growth for some of the lowest-paid public servants, yet she's prepared to secretly hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses through the back door to the top bureaucrats in her own department," Mr Rockliff said.

"It's just further evidence you can't trust Labor to look after Tasmania's finances."

The bonuses were revealed by the Liberals, who discovered the figures through a right-to-information request.

But the State Government said the payments were incentives, not bonuses.

The bonuses for 2012-13 are already up by more than 7 per cent on last year the bonuses bill for last financial year was $160,266.

The biggest bonus went to one of the department's policy directors, who got a 15 per cent payment of $20,630, taking his annual wage to $158,162.

Five staff members from the department's telecommunications unit received bonuses totalling more than $70,000.

Other staff to receive bonuses included the manager of strategic communications and marketing, $11,661, the director of community development, $8301, and the director of the social inclusion unit who has received $6877 worth of bonuses this financial year.

The bonuses come as many of the state's public servants, including teachers and healthcare workers, agreed to a 2 per cent pay increase over two years, after the State Government wage policy was tightened during the 2011 Budget to keep a lid on out-of-control spending.

A Government spokesman said yesterday the executives who received the $170,000 of "incentives" were on contracts instead of an award.

"They don't receive incremental pay rises each year, like other public servants," the spokesman said. "Each year, SES staff are assessed against an annual performance plan, and may receive performance payments.

"Those are not 'bonuses', and not given automatically." The spokesman said the DPAC staff were experienced people who often took on significant extra duties and workload.

The Opposition has vowed to reduce the number of senior executives in government departments.

"We will reduce the number of senior executives and save taxpayers $2 million a year," a spokesman said.

matthew.smith@news.com.au

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