SCOTLAND’s largest ferry operator has been blasted by trade unions after refusing staff a decent pay rise despite awarding directors a large wage increase.

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) has hit out at Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) over the company’s continued opposition to any more than a “miserly” 0.5 per cent pay rise for workers. 

Estimates suggest that such a pay rise would cost the company — which made over £7 million in profit last year — just £450,000. 

An ongoing dispute over pay, with the company refusing to budge on its refusal to grant union demands, comes after CalMac’s financial statement revealed that directors have seen their pay increase by as much as 18 per cent. 

TSSA lambasted CalMac’s “Scrooge bosses” after discovering that its highest paid director received £191,000, up from £165,000, at a time when workers in the public and private sectors are feeling the pinch because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The union says that it believes the official is likely to be managing director Robbie Drummond, who earlier this year sent a postcard to all staff thanking them for their “support, understanding and commitment.”

TSSA has now said that management are ”lining their own pockets while showing contempt for hard-working staff.”

General secretary Manuel Cortes said: “CalMac bosses have thanked staff for their dedication this year, but the best way to show this would be through an improved pay offer.

“Words on a glossy postcard mean nothing when they are prepared to preside over runaway executive pay and press down on workers’ wages.    

“My message to CalMac fat cat bosses is this: if you value your staff, put your hands in your deep pockets and show it.”

David MacBrayne Chairman David McGibbon said: “Mr Cortes has his facts wrong when claiming to have found a revelation in a publicly available document.

 “Salaries, pensions and benefits are fully disclosed in DML accounts. No Director has received an 18% pay increase and rather than the profit of £7.1m claimed, DML made a profit of just £0.3m in the last financial year.”