AN investigation by GMB, the water union, has revealed that shareholders with local water supplier Severn Trent have made almost £1.1billion in just five years.
The privatised water company showered shareholders with a total of £190million in 2017 alone, says the GMB.
At the same time the union says Severn Trent wastes more than 400 million litres of water every single day through leaks.
Last month, GMB figures showed Severn Trent’s chief executive has pocketed £10million in salary, bonuses, pensions and other benefits in the past five years.
The figures come from a joint investigation into the accounts by GMB and Corporate Watch as part of GMB’s Take Back the Tap Campaign to bring England’s privatised water industry back into public ownership.
The news comes days after water watchdog the Consumer Council for Water urged suppliers to take decisive action to boost unimpressive levels of customer satisfaction with fairness and value for money.