Taken for a ride

ScotRail dividends to its share-holders add 7% to cost of fares.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT) said franchise holder ScotRail paid dividends of £18 million in 2010, £18m in 2009, £17m in 2008 and £21m in 2007.

"In two of these years, ScotRail actually paid more in dividends than it made in profit, leading to the obvious conclusion that because it does not contribute anything towards investment in the railway or rail infrastructure, and with the level of Government subsidy even covering its track access charges, it is simply milking Scotland's railway."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/scotrail-dividends-add-7-to-cost-of-fares.17085971

For the scrap heap , hopefully

There is money in scrap , particularly for the directors .

The Aberdeen based scrap metal reprocessor and steel trading firm and one time rag-and -bone company John Lawrie Group announced that they paid an un-named director £2.1 million in 2006, plus a further £300,000 in contributions to his pension scheme. This compares with a combined figure of £1.6 million in 2005.
The increase helped swell total directors' remuneration to £3.9m from £2.6m.

This individual is assumed to be Brian Meldrum the chairman who staged a management buy-out of the company in 1981 which saw him climb the league table of top corporate earners in Scotland.

Another one for the scrap-heap when the revolution comes .

And Moir Lockhead, chief executive of ScotRail operator FirstGroup, saw his remuneration fall just short of the magic £1 million mark in the last financial year. Lockhead received a basic salary of £461,000, a cash bonus of £254,000 and benefits-in-kind of £30,000 in the year to March 31. This totalled £745,000, up from £723,000 in 2006. Lockhead was also awarded a bonus worth £254,000 in deferred shares . His total bonus for 2006-07 is therefore £508,000, or the maximum 110% of salary for the second year running. The deferred bonus, assuming it vests, will take Lockhead's total remuneration for 2006-07 to £999,000. In addition he also received perk benefits comprising of £24,000 in respect of a company car, £5000 for private fuel, and £1000 of medical insurance for Lockhead and his spouse.