The large salaries at NBN Co have attracted criticism in the past year,with itschief executive Stephen Rue earning more than $3 million and topping taxpayer-funded salaries after receiving a $1.2 million bonus.
More than $37 million in payments went to 2865 staff on salaries between $100,000 and $200,000 – an average bonus of $13,156,according to figures produced by NBN Co in response to questions asked in the Senate from the federal opposition.
There were 775 staff members earning more than $200,000 a year who received bonuses worth just short of $50,000 each on average.
Within that group,635 people earning between $200,000 and $300,000 a year took home an average bonus of $35,000,which federal Labor likened to the equivalent of seven $5000 Cartier watches each – the type of gift whichforced an investigation into former Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate,leading to her controversial departure.
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NBN Co chairman Ziggy Switkowski has defended generous bonus payments to employees as in the public interest for providing customers with a “first-rate network” during the COVID-19 pandemic,which he said was “resilient” and “affordable”.
Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said in February a “substantial proportion” of the bonuses had been paid to “frontline staff”. Frontline staff at the organisation are widely regarded as telecommunications technicians,who have an average salary of between $61,036 and $73,245 according to the communications union’s enterprise bargaining agreement.