SEC bosses paid huge bonuses as Glasgow City Council considers axing teaching posts

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Executives at a council-owned live entertainment firm have been awarded £140,000 in bonuses while hundreds of teaching posts face the axe.The top brass at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) landed the payments at the same time as profits plummeted.SEC Ltd is over 90 per cent owned by Glasgow City Council and runs money-spinning venues such as the Armadillo and the Hydro.The SNP-run local authority’s budget is under huge pressure, but the latest accounts show bonuses continue to be paid to senior SEC figures.Chief Executive Peter Duthie was given a £24,473 performance top up as part of a £284,810 remuneration package.It was announced in May that he would be stepping down at the end of June after 40 years with the SEC.Colin Hartley, Director of Operations from June last year, received a £16,400 bonus which topped up a £117,145 salary.William McFadyen, Director of Finance and Development, enjoyed an overall package worth £192,439, of which £21,061 was a bonus.Four other directors - Deborah McWilliams, Gayle Shepherd, Daniel Thurlow and Kathleen Warden - received an extra £19,833 each.The bonus total came to £141,266.According to the accounts, SEC profits before tax was £1.5m, down from £4.4m in the previous twelve months.Glasgow council's latest budget made a number of cuts, particularly in education.The local authority is under fire over plans to axe 172 teaching posts this year and 450 in three years.Lawyers for Glasgow City Parents Group (GCPG) have threatened to raise a judicial review unless the council halts steps to implement the cuts.Glasgow Labour councillor Jill Pidgeon said: “At a time when the SNP council is trying to axe hundreds of teaching posts, it is grossly insensitive for the SEC to be paying its top