£80,000 wage rise for CIE boss
One worker who doesn't have to worry about the 5% wage increase allowed under the Partnership for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF) is CIE chief executive Michael McDonnell.
McDonnell's salary increased from £100,000 to £181,952 without the needed approval of Public Enterprise minister Mary O'Rourke.
The fault lies with CIE and not McDonnell, but it goes to show that not all workers are treated equally. How many other CIE workers got and 80% wage rise this year?
Smurfit bonus
Michael Smurfit was another worker who enjoyed a substantial wage increase this year, even though his company's share price has halved over the last 12 months.
Together with chief executive Ray Curran, Smurfit shared a $1.27 million bonus.
Curran took home a total of $2.48 million last year while Smurfit earned $1.84 million. His basic salary was a mere $900,000, up 10% on 1998 while his bonus rose by a whopping 140% to $445,140.
It doesn't end there though. Smurfit also gets $218,000 from Smurfit plc. Nice work if you can get it
InterTradeIreland
One all-Ireland body that has not yet been obstructed by David Trimble is the Trade and Business Development Body, which is being launched this week as InterTradeIreland and is staging a series of road shows in Dublin, Belfast, Limerick and Derry over the coming weeks.
The aim of the road shows is to link businesses throughout the island and generate mutually beneficial economic growth. Next week, An Phoblacht will report from the opening road show and launch in Dublin.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)