Water industry experts slam massive CEO bonuses

[@gurmon]

providing water isnt a business, its a subsidised service that should be provided by the government

[@zog97xy]

It should be NATIONALISED.

[@MickG-e3g]

The legacy of Thatcherism.

[@ZenEmu01]

The average cost for detecting and repairing leaks is £1,000 to £2,500 per leak. So these bonuses could have fixed anywhere between 16,400 to 41,000 leaks. For context, a typical leak can waste 20,000 to 100,000 litres of water per day.

[@CYBERDOODY]

NATIONALISE WATER NOW

[@NeilFH]

they may be critical of the bonuses but they are not talking about re-nationalising but perception management - unacceptable

[@twistedsister2568]

They don’t want to renationalise because they know it’s not as straightforward as most people on here thinks it is. Water companies took over water services and infrastructure that was in a shocking state. Governments were responsible for the damage in the first instance.

[@BoyeeSmudger]

​What investment have the private companies put in?

[@donincognito189]

"Many CEOs have waived taking bonuses" says the CEO of Water UK. Meanwhile, water companies in the UK *_raised_* their bonuses to £9.1m in 2024 despite record leaks, record sewage discharges and record bills. The important question to ask is *why were these CEOs offered bonuses in the first place?* Also, it's a bit rich to complain about a "lack of investment" 30 years after privatisation, which was sold as a way to *increase* investment but instead became a vehicle for water companies to pay massive dividends and bonuses while saddling the water companies with record amounts of debt. 😠

[@craigevans6156]

Never mind the bonuses, what about the dividends paid to shareholders and the taking out of debt to pay for them! This has to be fraud on a massive scale 😡

[@stormbroke]

This old large system is older and larger because the water companies didn’t invest in all the previous years because they have already taken our money and paid their shareholders off.

[@Pegaroo_]

Some even borrowed money adding to company debt and paid this as dividends to shareholders

[@stormbroke]

@ yes the misinformation and dishonesty is astounding

[@robertoravazzolo6202]

they pollute, get fined, rise the price to cover the fines, handle crazy bonuses for CEOs

[@BusstterNutt]

How about repaying the bonuses back.They were obviously given for profits and not performance.

[@verystripeyzebra]

Profits? What about all the debt they leveraged against these once national assets

[@peterwhitear7716]

they all should be jailed for what they have not done

[@MickG-e3g]

They know their days are numbered so they are fleecing the customers for as long as they can!

[@stephenwakeman3074]

"Nobody looks at sewage being fed into a water system and thinks thats acceptable." - You all did though and would still be thinking that had there not been this backlash.

[@catherinemartin6258]

We’ve been getting conned for decades

[@meatballg8655]

no ceo should be taking any kind of bonus iin any industry, they earn enough as is

[@Pegaroo_]

I would argue their pay should be 100% performance based otherwise what's the incentive to do better other than personal pride But in the case of these water companies it shouldn't be financial performance it should be on how well the water it dealt with but it could be done as financial performance if the fines were set correctly and the regulator was enforcing the rules correctly. Public ownership would be better but how we get to that point isn't straightforward and what's to stop a future government just selling them off again once our taxes have paid to solve all the problems

[@markwelch3564]

What's happened to free market competition? There must be hundreds of people out there who could do a better job than these scumbags, for half the pay!

[@verystripeyzebra]

Get your plumbing skills in and set up rival water provision infrastructure. How do you have a free market where there is no competition.

[@willbuscassullivan]

I think one of the bosses invented water😊

[@markwelch3564]

@@verystripeyzebra the market is for the CEO job - get a competitive tender going to replace the current numpty with someone doing a better job for a fraction of the money!

[@cerip2]

There is no competition. If you live in London you can't get your water from, say, Welsh Water.

[@verystripeyzebra]

@@markwelch3564 i understand, but time after time we see under coated over hyped bids. Same with the trains. I'd rather it was nationalised and the heads being well paid, no objection to bonuses, but for performance, not how well they leveraged company assets to saddle us with loads of debt to maintain a share price.

[@stuartgraca]

If they get this money they should take equal penalties for failings

[@Stuboy]

As we can now see in America oligarchy and privatisation dosent work its all about the £££ not safety or quality , these water bosses have bank details and accounts and addresses they need investigating, if any of us polluted water we'd be in prison not paying ourselves massive bonuses for failure

[@farazvfx]

Been happening for years. What will our MPs do about it? Nothing but words...

[@georgec7899]

UK GRIFTERS NOW no SHAME

[@GuruCube]

I'm sorry but CEOs in almost any companies to almost sweet FA to justify their salaries. If a CEO goes missing tomorrow, you wouldn't know for months... Maybe even years. If the cleaner goes missing tomorrow, you'd notice within a couple of days. Within a week or two, you'd have significant sickness issues and after a few more the company would break down. So, how do these clowns justify their excessive salaries? Other than relying on 'committees' of their buddies to award them such salaries? 🤔

[@James-bc1jk]

Lol what's the point in these stupid meetings because they don't do nothing the mega rich people who own the company just laugh and walk away with millions

[@Jon-xw9om]

Thinking the same. I'm sure I've seen another select committee hearing from 10(?) years ago.

[@verystripeyzebra]

It can help identify the type of legislation needed.

[@Bonez-u2z]

The only legislation needed is water companies cannot raise bills if they are profitable and paying bonuses and big salaries​@@verystripeyzebra

[@paulspencer4713]

I don’t see how a employee even a top boss should be paid millions a year ,, the owner of a company yes but an employee,, no

[@umwhatthistime]

World class drinking water if you like your water to smell of chemicals

[@keycuz]

Slightly better than smelling like bum.

[@Ayeyermaw]

So there you are. Everything has been resolved by this enquiry. There'll be no more water bill extortion and an end to industrial scale sewage pollution of rivers and waterways and water will be returned to public ownership. Start celebrating England???

[@MrBenbradford]

8:14 I’m sorry not enough money to invest but huge bonuses being paid out so clearly enough money if they stop paying bonuses out , water needs nationalisation now along with rail travel and the green energy grid needs sorting asap they can’t keep getting away with this crap

[@heliotropezzz333]

It's remuneration and not renumeration.

[@wayneford2481]

WATER bosses pay has fallen what to sub million's. We need to seen pay rates in pounds For full-time employees, the median average salary is £34,963, £0 in yearly pension payments, and a £0 car allowance Thames Water is handing its new boss an annual salary worth £850,000, on top of £102,000 in yearly pension payments, and a £15,000 car allowance

[@Misaki.Manifestation]

It is important to remember, these people are real, human, and have names and addresses.

[@iancooketapia]

What a shifty looking guy, that corprpate lapdog. Can't seem to make eye contact at all.

[@johngoff8923]

No target meet no bonus, simple, stop the RIPOFF! I don’t want to hear excuses! Question if the contract between me and the water has been broken by the water company, can I refuse the bill and pay for the service I feel is fare same as in a restaurant!?!

[@mcbread9760]

You have no choice about what water company you get and what the service levels are, get what you are given and like it.

[@susanmiller1201]

How noble to reduce their bonuses now, after they drained the financial pond!

[@zog97xy]

That guy on the end thinks data centre's are important they aren't.

[@hendrikthuber2769]

Why were they privatised in the first place!people voted tory and labour shouldborrowm

[@shortyspur3575]

The name label at the beginning of the video is incorrect; the MP is Andrew Pakes, MP for Peterborough.

[@sockwithaticket]

"Not having sufficient funds to invest". Hmm I wonder why that is. Could it possibly be that pumping out billions upon billions to shareholders and executives over the past couple of decades, saddling the water companies with colossal debts in order to do so, has somewhat caught up with them? Taking on debt for investment isn't a problem, but that's not what happened. It was a purely extractive process and now companies are too deep in the hole to borrow money to invest and bill payers are rightly disgusted by the notion that they should have to pay even more for their service after years and years of their bill money not being used for it's intended purpose - re-investing in the infrastructure, service and non-executive personnel. As with so much of the crumbling infrastructure and services in this country there's an absolute mountain to climb to get them back to where they need to be, let alone ahead of the curve, because investment has been avoided for a considerable period of time. Even there were a magic money tree to wave at the problems, the sorts of projects you'd be paying for often take years to complete.

[@gavinstuart6704]

Why not get the committies in who set the objective the CEOs need to meet to qualify for bonuses and grill these "Independent renumeration committee"

[@MrMbdies]

0:39 That man with the lisp in his voice reminds me of Steven Berkoff from Beverly Hills Cop (1984) - The Harrow Club scene,

[@ShaunieDale]

They are still the be deaf it’s unbelievable. They talk about “shareholder funds”, it’s not every bit of it is bill payers funds. Give their bonuses to the people at the sharp end, not wealthy people at the top. The only way they will get more done is beat the workers harder, why not pay them better instead.

[@verystripeyzebra]

Only foregone bonuses because the failure was so public. If we hadnt known about all the sh.t theyd have banked the bonuses.

[@MadnessQuotient]

We hear simultanously that private is better because private money knows how to invest, and then this where the private companies paying out bonuses and dividends "didnt have enough to invest". So which is it? There would be a lot more to invest if you weren't busy skimming.

[@Prhbuild]

Blar Blar Blar everyone and everybody , total crap . Greedy uk

[@lonevoice]

There is far too much leakage from the real economy. Obscene pay for UK CEOs is one small example, a growing wealth inequality with its drain on the active economy into asset prices is another, the creaming off of income right across the economy to US corporates for monopoly platforms of all kinds is a large and rapidly growing one etc etc.

[@ukulelelab4219]

outrage yes but the ceos won't care. no consequences for them

[@MultiMeg101]

What are the government going to do about it then please? Know is your chance to prove your better than the last lot do something you have the power and the ability they need to be stopped and put back in their box

[@edmurth]

Complaining about a lack of investment while simultaneously paying themselves bonuses and shareholders dividends. I like water company CEOs but I couldn’t eat a whole one.

[@gavin1506]

"Water is a Complicated business" so? Every business is a complicated business. If it was a simple business it'd be taxed heavily or people would do it themselves.

[@albertbrammer9263]

Time to reform OfWAT. Not fit for purpose.

[@bakerbaker4455]

video too quiet

[@vorg956]

Needs investment so they pay CEO from investor funds.... nice

[@rich-rothschild1400]

CEOs are supposedly get paid by their shareholders. Who pays the shareholders is the consumer. Therefore, the shareholders are responsible and the CEOs for keeping the system up and running accordingly. if they don’t which has shown to be the fact that haven’t been doing their job in the first place and they say they haven’t got the constraints they’re given the excuse. Oh it’s been getting bigger over the years companies are very they’re supposed to monitor this. That’s their job unfortunately they haven’t and they’ve concentrated purely on their shareholders. That is why the bamboozled in the panel and the panel I haven’t taken into account the fact that the money is actuallybeing paid to the shareholders as who intern pay the CEOs so this clown unfortunately he sat there thinking, oh I’ve got away with this it’s disgusting food for thought. Bye for now. Take care of your friends and family.

[@zzhughesd]

They’ve ruined a sector couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery types. So let’s take massive bonuses. Anyway. As was a bad sector and we’re CEOs don’t you know. We need get paid our x millions. M

[@DaveATKIN]

Spiv culture.

[@Tiger25149489]

Wait wait, so there’s not enough investment money. But you gave yourself a 160K bonus…. Make that make sense 😂😂 Wake up people this is a scam, these people will poison your water and take bonuses

[@itzsleazy6903]

uwu sowwy for not investing for decades and handing out bonuses and dividends uwu we will do better, pinky promise xoxo

[@tommckeon5008]

Fetal alcohol syndrome water boss

[@Zainab-x8j7z]

والله العظيم ماكتبت هاذا المناشده الا من الجوع والفقر ياعالم حسو فينا سِالُتكِ بّالُلُُه انَ تْنَقًذَنَا قًبّلُ انَ نَمٌوَتْ مٌنَ شِدِتْ الُجْوَع انَتٌْخيَكِ انَيَ دٌِخلُةِ ْعلُى الُلُُه تْمٌ ْعلُيَكِ انَيَ فَيَ وَجُْهك انَـيَ اخـتْكِ انَـيَ اتْرَجْـاكِ اتْـوَسِـلُ الُـيَـكِ انَـقًـذَنَا لُـوَجُْـه الُـلُُـه. يَــشِــُهدِ الُــلُــُه يَاٌخـيَ انَ مٌنَ الُــصّــبّاحُ حُـتْا الُـانَ يَــحُــرَمٌ ْعـــلُيَـنَـا الاكل غير الماء ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' My brother, my first words are: I swear to God that I will not lie to you or deceive you. I am a Yemeni girl displaced from the war. My family and I live in a rented house in Al-Shahrab 20,000 Yemenis among us, and now we owe 60,000 for 3 months. The owner of the house is one of the people who does not have mercy, by God, my brother. He comes every day, insulting us, talking about us, and moving from the house to the street because we were unable to pay him the rent. The neighbors saw us crying and came back.They came back to talk to the neighbors and we were given the weekend. So we made him swear by God. He will take us out into the street. Have mercy on him and us. Our country is due to this war and we do not find food for our day, and my brothers and I live in a difficult life. Our father died, may God have mercy on him, and we have no one in this world who was with us in these harsh circumstances. My younger brothers went out into the street and saw...The neighbors eat and stand at their door in order to give them bread even if they break it. By God, to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, they closed the door and expelled them and came back crying. They are dying of hunger. No one has mercy on them and a holiday is returned. I have made a living, and now if one of us helps us with a kilo of flour, I swear to God, I am dying of hunger. My brother, I am an alien to God. Then, I ask you to help me for the sake of God. I ask you, by God, to love goodness and to help me, even if you can, by messaging me on WhatsApp.On this number 00967717354582 and ask for the name of my card and send it and do not be late and may God reward you with all the best, my brothers Sagar, see how they are and help us and save us before they throw us out in the street, you will be lost or we will die of hunger. My family and I ask you, by God, if you are able to help us, do not be late and may God reward you we π~ππ& ;;&☪π~>π>π💔😭😭π~^~°😭^^>😭|🎉😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@geraldcoffey3303]

Why are they paid bonuses in the first place. This is pure corruption. Gravy train handouts to each other is a scam

[@garriejackson9551]

The water companies are taking a massive piss take, nationalise it and stop their gravy train