BBC transparency

I'll google it this evening if you are still interested only I'm busy today.

Thank you white wave, no need, I was just curious

Ok have a good day.

I think the notion of the 4 to 1 differential in Norwegian pay comes from this article in 2011

sciencenordic.com/culture-smaller-wage-differences

However this 2013 article in "Newsinenglish" from Norway paints are rather different picture, showing a 16 to 1 differential. Note that this is between the pay of top executives and average, not minimum, pay of workers.

"Aftenposten reported that new figures from pension, finance and life insurance agency KLP along with academic estimates show that Norwegian chief executives earn roughly 16 times the incomes of “average” workers. Executive pay has increased more than the average raises granted to Norwegian workers over the past 20 years, but executive salaries are still small compared to CEOs in other countries."

www.newsinenglish.no/2013/05/29/executive-pay-low-in-norway/

I do agree that it would be best if we were a more egalitarian country, like Norway and the other Scandinavian countries, but it is important not to get the facts right.

Having said that, it is not actually that outrageous to suggest that a surgeon's pay might be £1,200 per week, compared with a hospital cleaner on £300. Surgeons in training (ie below the grade of consultant) could well be on £1,200.

Yes, we should question these salaries as it is OUR licence fees that pay them.

I didn't mention surgeons in training varian,

I honestly can't understand why they get so much! Would we miss them if they weren't there? Would it damage us? No! Now a nurse, carer, doctor who ARE important to our health and welfare are missing out big time, having to fight for every penny. This is a ridiculous situation. And what about the backroom people ? They miss out too as the 'celebrities' take all the kudos; yet without all the actually skilled personnel behind the scenes programmes would certainly not be of good calibre.

Stephen Nolan is on 5 live, but he also does a morning programme every day in Northern Ireland. As for Derek Thompson, he's paid all that money for pretending to be a nurse. That says it all.

Annie the term "surgeons in training" applies to all surgeons below consultant grade. Many of these are Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons (ie, fully qualified surgeons), all are fully qualified doctors and some are in their late thirties, with fifteen years of experience. These are the people who perform most routine operations. They are not students, but just not consultants (ie heads of departments). I think it is right that they are well renumerated, but some will only earn four times as much as a cleaner in the same hospital and may work longer hours.

It is pretty ridiculous that TV personalities may earn ten times as much.

It is ridiculous varian - but is it any more ridiculous than anybody doing an inessential job being paid vast amounts of money? For example top footballers, barristers (especially tax barristers), bankers, artists (Damien Hirst is reportedly worth £250 million), CEOs of companies marketing inessential services or goods, arms dealers, pop stars, etc. etc. etc. are paid way in excess of the amounts paid to these TV people.

I think the truly shocking thing that these disclosures have revealed is what appears to be a lack of equality relating to gender and race. But I doubt that sort of unfair treatment is confined to the BBC.

£1200 a week is £64,000 a year. Nothing wrong with that pay.
What is wrong is that the cleaner only gets £300 a week, and cannot feed her kids. That's less than £16000 a year.
£400 a week is a much more respectable pay, and the surgeon could then earn over £83,000 a year. That puts him in the top 10% of earners.

Comparing surgeons, artists, footballers, opera singers, writers, actors, politicians, comedians, pop singers, cleaners, taxi drivers, plumbers, bricklayers, shop assistants, and so on is a waste of time and energy and hot air.

Of course it is Anniebach footballers, entertainers etc. are not paid their worth, they are paid the amount necessary to keep them at the football club, TV channel or whatever. How can anyone be worth 2.2 million per year?

I am worth what I am worth which isn't much. I have no particularly valuable skills, I can't carry out brain surgery or even play football.

If I were a cleaner in Buck House I would be longing for this new world we are promised, imagine being paid a quarter of queenies earnings.

How can Claudia Winkleman be the highest paid female presenter ? How she totters on to SCD is ridiculous IMO and her fringe and thick eye makeup do not enhance her looks.

These are the people I can accept have a high salary

Sir David Attenborough
Dr Brian Cox
Lees Doucet (I haven't spelt her name right) the foreign correspondent
Chris Mason very funny political correspondent
The female chief political correspondent whose name evades me
Paul Merton

I'm sure there are a few more you would like to add to the list.

From that list I could only agree with one person NanKate and that's Paul Merton.

Do you by any chance mean Orla Guerin? ( If so I agree ) . I thought she was a foreign/war correspondent? I might have the wrong person mind you.

Lyse Doucet is BBC's international correspondent.

Thanks Elo for giving me the correct spelling. Yes I would add Orla too Gilly. These foreign correspondents put their lives on the line to bring news from war torn parts of the world.

I hear on the news about 40/50 of the BBCs women presenters have sent Tony Hall a request for a pay rise

Toby Young said that what should happen is that white middle aged men working for the BBC should be paid less. I agree.

www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jul/22/bbc-massive-pay-gap-hundreds-of-workers-and-top-stars

Hundreds of BBC employees earn less than £20,000.

Because they are white or because they are middle class or both?

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/20/bbc-pay-disparity-blight-uk-women-bloated-salaries-ftse-100-ceos

Excellent article by Polly Toynbee. It's not just about the BBC.

And if a black middle-aged man or woman is working for the same pay, shouldn't he/she be paid less too? Or are some people more equal than others?

Doing an equal job for the same pay, I should have said - and I hope that Toby Young added that.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/20/highest-paid-bbc-stars-white-black-ethnic-minority-top-20-rich-list

Does this answer your question, Elegran?