Liberal Democrat minister Jeremy Browne said Hester was “a public servant” and should reject the bonus offered by the 83% taxpayer-owned bank, while the Unite union said it was “disgusting.”
RBS said Hester’s bonus, which is far less than some predicted he would receive but comes on top of his £1.2m salary, reflected his “significant contribution…towards rebuilding RBS.”
The RMT’s General Secretary Bob Crow said: “RBS is owned by the country. To give someone £1m and then to give them a massive bonus on top, while public sector workers get a pay freeze and their pension contributions go up, I have got to say that is a complete disgrace.
“What a kick in the face to those people who deliver a public service for our people in this country.”
TUC leader Brendan Barber said the bonus was “a very bad decision”, especially at a time of public sector pay restraint.
“To be told that a banker supposed to be working for the public service is to be made an exception with this huge increase, it’s utterly unacceptable.”
RBS has announced thousands of job cuts, although it recorded a £2bn profit in its most recent trading period, compared with a £1.6bn loss in the same period in 2010.
