Michael Williamson was the Secretary for Health Services Union, he was on a $500,000-a-year salary, more than likely plus a lot of other benefits. This figure was from around October 2011.

Personally I do not believe one card carrying working union member would say he or any other Union boss is worth anywhere near that amount per year.

Interesting to know what salaries present day Union bosses are on.

Considering the state the economy of this Nation no-one should be on such a salary yet many senior public servants are on even higher salaries.
Want to put a stop to the rorts ? Don't vote ALP/LNP !

There is no justification for that amount of money for any union operative. Come to think of it, there is no justification for unions these days. Unions are just training grounds for Labor politicians.

Good Morning Philip,

I guess that we could question the salaries of any
CEO of any organisation or for that matter the
salaries and perks of our politicians. But if
we're going to be fair - we really don't know what
their jobs involve - what their responsibilities
fully entail - and how their salaries are determined.
Presumably their employers chose their executives on
merit, qualifications, experience, and the results they
produce for their organisation.

The salary of $500,000 may appear to be huge to us -
but how does it compare with the millions that for
example the CEO of Qantas gets or the CEO of Westpac,
and so on. The HSU is a huge organisation - that covers
members working in public hospitals, ambulance, aged care,
allied health, private hospitals, imaging, pathology and
disability care. It has members in every state and
territory.

Its members are health professionals, paramedics,
scientists, aged care workers, disability support workers,
nurses, doctors, technicians, personal care workers,
clerical and administrative staff, managers,
medical librarians, and support staff. Therefore to question
the salary of the General Secretary of this
huge specialist organisation simply because
the term "Union"
appears in its title - doesn't somehow appear relevant.
We need to look at the organisation itself and what it's work
actually is - what it does that merits (or not) the salary
mentioned.

Foxy,
Those CEO's are on too much money as are scores of bureaucrats ! Comparing one outrageous salary to another one is utterly beside the point ! Too much is too much full stop !
The playing field is too crooked.
Kevin Rudd gave himself a pay rise of over $ 200,000 for near ruining the nation. He still has many peers in the public service.
Scott Morrisson has a lot to answer for as Treasurer. Cormann has openly displayed his utter ignorance of base level economy.
The joint is saturated with bureaucrats bleeding the nation. Yet, there are people who want to vote them back in AGAIN ? Can we really blame the politicians for exploiting such idiotic voters ?

Individual,

I think it's up to the organisations themselves to decide and
negotiate the salaries of their employees. Obviously those
salaries will not continue if the employees don't come
up with the required results that satisfy their employer.
How much a company executive is paid is determined by what
a given organisation thinks they are worth (or not).
Politicians are a different matter - in which the public
can voice their concerns. And have done so - quite often.
The public purse and the perks involved should be accountable
to us the voters - but private monies we really have no
control over.