Labour hits out at ‘eye-watering’ salary increases for Scottish Water bosses

Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie has hit out at increases in pay for the bosses of Scottish Water.

The body’s annual report released on Wednesday shows chief executive Alex Plant received a £50,000 boost to his annual salary – which now sits at £295,000 –  between 2024 and 2025, while his total package, including pension contributions, grew by £40,000, to a total of £523,000.

Chief operating officer Peter Farrer saw his salary fall by around £20,000 but his overall package increase to £312,000, and chief financial officer Alan Dingwall – who joined the firm last year – was paid a salary of £175,000 and a total package of £293,000.

The total cost of Scottish Water’s senior executive salaries rose from just more than £1.1 million to almost £1.4 million between 2024 and 2025, the report shows.

The news will “stick in the craw” of Scots handed a near-10% hike in water charges this year, Dame Jackie said.

“People across Scotland are struggling to make ends meet, yet the wages of bosses at Scottish Water are eye-watering and continue to rise,” she said.

“This will stick in the craw for people across the country, with water bills having inflation-busting increases, by almost 10% in April this year, after a rise of 8.8% last year.

“Chief executive Alex Plant has warned about the need for increased investment yet is still happy to be handed a huge boost in his salary of almost £50,000.

“On top of that, bosses are also picking up hefty incentive bonuses totalling more than £230,000, just for doing the job they are already paid for, all at the expense of Scottish taxpayers.

“Scottish Labour has previously called for water rates to be frozen, but the SNP have chosen to sit on their hands. The time for excuses is over and action is needed now.”

A spokesman for Scottish Water said: “Scottish Water is one of the largest and best-performing utilities in the UK, but executive pay is significantly lower than in similarly sized private companies, where we need to compete for talent.

“Across the business, the biggest percentage pay rises have been given to the lowest-paid workers, narrowing the gap between the chief executive’s pay and median employee earnings, which is already much smaller than the pay ratios in other companies of our scale.

“Total remuneration also includes pension contributions and variable pay related to performance, which is only paid when the business delivers strong results, as it did last year, with 94% customer satisfaction.

“Every Scottish Water employee is eligible for an annual outperformance payment.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scottish Water’s current remuneration package is significantly smaller than that paid by comparable utilities and bonuses are only paid in the event of outperformance of demanding targets that are verified by independent regulators.”

The body’s annual report also shows a record performance in the past year in customer satisfaction – which hit 94% – as well as other positive results in leak reduction and the halving of serious pollution, leading Mr Plant to describe the past 12 months as “our strongest year ever”.

He said: “In total, we delivered over £1 billion of investment in critical infrastructure last year, whilst also hitting our targets for timely delivery.

“As a publicly-owned organisation, every penny of surplus is reinvested into improving services.

“We never take the trust of our customers for granted and are determined to deliver value for money in all we do.

“More widely, we could not deliver such great results were it not for the long-term steady and prudent investment we have been allowed, and the benefits of the model we operate in Scotland:  publicly-owned, commercially run, and independently regulated.

“This combination helps us respond effectively to a fast-changing world. But we know continued investment will be needed to ensure customers get the high standard of service they rightly expect.”

A Scottish Water spokesperson said: “Alex Plant’s salary has not increased since he started at Scottish Water in June 2023 on a salary of £295,000.”