Scottish Water bosses have been awarded almost £227,000 in bonuses in one year while Scots struggle with the mounting cost of living, says Scottish Labour.
As the publicly-owned company falls under the remit of the Scottish Government, the ministers have been told to get control of the "obscene" costs handed out to top figures at the publicly-owned company.
Scottish ministers have been accused of adding to the household bill burden while allowing top staff to be showered with "eye-watering" extras.
Scottish Water's chief executive Duncan Millican was handed a £92,000 bonus for a single year’s work in 2021, on top of his £267,000 salary.
Chief operating officer Peter Farrer picked up £68,000 on top of his £197,000 salary, while strategy and commercial director Alan Scott's bonus was £67,000 on top of his £195,000 salary.
The company was asked by the Scottish Government to rethink its planned price hike of at least 12%.
However, according to documents released under a Freedom of Information request, Energy Minister Michael Matheson was told this would compromise targets for fair and affordable changes.
These include the long-standing problem of overflowing sewers polluting rivers, lochs and seas that may be delayed, all while the company sits on a £500m cash reserve.
The SNP's Green coalition partners have accused Scottish Water of using sewage pollution as a bargaining chip.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “It is obscene that high-paid execs are being handed bonuses three times the size of the average salary at taxpayers’ expense while people across Scotland struggle to make ends meet.
“The SNP are piling pressure on to those who can least afford it by nodding through hikes to water charges, and all the while Scottish Water are sitting on almost £500m of cash reserves and throwing around almost a quarter of a million pounds in bonuses for just three people.
“These eye-watering sums make a mockery of the SNP’s pretence that they can’t spare a penny to freeze water charges or give people a rebate.
“The SNP are responsible for Scottish Water – they must show some leadership and put struggling families first by delivering a £100 rebate for every household.”
Scotland's water services are provided by Scottish Water, a publicly-owned company answerable to Scottish ministers.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are acutely aware of the cost of living crisis and remain committed to supporting people facing issues paying their water bills.
“Keeping our water services in public ownership means that every pound raised is re-invested in our water industry. Scottish Water must balance affordability with the delivery of critical services when setting charges.”
An investment of £4.5bn to improve water services is planned from 2021 to 2027.
Scottish Water has been contacted for comment.
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