Nice work . . .

WITH mill workers in Hawick being told to curb pay expectations, why on earth are fat-cat salaries still being paid to bosses?

The disturbing news that Dawson International saw fit to double its chief executive’s salary last year is sure to generate a massive outpouring of anger among Teries. And it’s totally vindicated.

Dawson’s sums simply don’t add up. One minute the firm is wielding the jobs axe at Barrie’s Burnfoot factory, and the next it is handing out pay rises like there’s no tomorrow.

Chief executive Andy Bartmess’s wage hike of more than 100 per cent to £390,000 a year is, in these grim economic conditions, nothing short of obscene. And it’s a real kick in the teeth for the 19 who were deemed surplus to requirements at Barrie, many of whom have no idea where their next pay packet is coming from.

But Mr Bartmess isn’t the only one to have picked up an exorbitant pay increase, and hot on his heels in our fat-cat league is Dawson’s finance boss David Cooper who pocketed £259,000 – up a staggering £133,000 from the year before. While just managing to keep the wolf from the door, chairman Michael Hartely received pay and bonuses of £153,000.

Nice work . . . if you can get it.