Ucatt and Unite have slammed the salary being advertised for the Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Training Board "as grossly excessive and entirely inappropriate".

The Chief Executive position is being advertised at £170,000-£190,000 plus a car allowance and a bonus. There is also a pension scheme. The bonus scheme will be up to 30% of the Chief Executive's salary meaning that the successful applicant could earn almost £250,000 plus benefits per annum.

The CITB is a learning and skills council so its senior salaries are reviewed by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills. The BIS civil servants and the Skills Minister Matthew Hancock MP raised concerns as the salary was well in excess of the £142,000 salary for the most senior civil servants and bonuses should not exceed £15,000.

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Despite these concerns the Remuneration Committee of the CITB decided to press ahead with the package being offered in order to "attract the level of candidates, needed for this demanding position" and due to "the need to attract a high calibre candidate to the post."

The construction industry is almost unique as it charges a levy on employers in order to fund training. This levy is granted by Government and collected and distributed by the CITB.

Steve Murphy General Secretary of Ucatt and John Allott Unite's National Officer for Construction are both members of the CITB board, neither of whom were consulted about the proposed salary before the advert was placed.

Mr Murphy said: "This salary is entirely excessive, especially at a time of austerity and pay freezes. There is no way that I can justify this level of salary. This position is being offered at a time when construction workers are often having to fund their own training. Construction workers will see this salary and feel as though they have been kicked in the teeth."

(CD/JP)