Man Utd slash stewards' £100 bonus in latest costcutting measures
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Manchester United have axed bonuses paid to stewards as the club continues to cut costs under Sir Jim Ratcliffe. United have engaged in huge cost-saving measures since Ratcliffe bought a stake in the club, including making 250 members of staff redundant, hiking ticket prices and axing Sir Alex Ferguson's ambassadorial deal.
And it has now been revealed that United have also scrapped a bonus scheme that would see stewards paid an extra £100 for every 10 games they work and an extra £50 if they were named steward of the week. Frank Robinson, 67, worked at Old Trafford for a steward for 24 years before deciding to quit last year as a result of Ratcliffe's changes. "A lot of stewards are leaving since Ratcliffe came in," Robinson told the i.
"Up until last year they used to get an attendance bonus. Every 10 matches we did, we got a £100 bonus. Now they said you're not having that. So they stopped that completely. For many years you'd have a steward of the week, someone nominated or fans wrote in and said how well this steward had done.
"You got £50 for that. Now they still have steward of the week, but they have no award. It's very petty for a football club. You're pinching off people at the bottom of the ladder.". Robinson also claimed he is not the only long-time employee who has decided to quit since Ratcliffe took charge. "Supervisors and stewards who've been at United for years are packing it in," he added.
"Some stewards in their 70s, they're putting them into the top tier of the North Stand because they know they won't like it and they'll leave. They can bring more agency staff in. They're trying to force them out. They are getting rid of stewards and replacing them with untrained, unqualified agency staff.
