Volkswagen’s focus on pay rises for bosses is a slap in the face for emissions scandal victims

Volkswagen’s focus on pay rises for bosses is a slap in the face for emissions scandal victims, who continue to be refused compensation in England and Wales. Although Matthias Mueller was recently replaced, it didn’t stop VW increasing his already generous pay packet by around 40% last year, while leaving the victims of the “dieselgate” scandal without a penny.

VW has also boasted of brighter profits recently as well, and when you consider the refusal to compensate emissions scandal owners in England and Wales, it’s a slap in the face for victims in my view.

Although Volkswagen have paid billions in fines and damages claims in the US, they say there is no legal case to answer here in the UK. We do not agree!

Volkswagen were caught cheating. They accept that some 11 million vehicles worldwide are affected by software they put in place to make sure vehicles pass emission testing but pollute more dangerous NOx outside of test environments. This has led to potentially over 2 million consumers in the UK eligible for a claim for compensation as a victim of the scandal, yet rather than allocating funds for the victims of their “dieselgate” scandal, board members have seen their pay increase by 27% last year.

The importance of making a claim for compensation

We cannot allow Volkswagen to get away with what they have done. Experts estimate that the impact from the additional NOx caused by the scandal has led to thousands of premature deaths as well as environmental damage.

Usually, the only way to properly punish a huge company like Volkswagen is to hit them where it hurts: in the pocket.

Instead of seeing more money given to bosses, we think they should pay fines and damages to victims of the scandal to not only prevent them from engaging in such behaviour again themselves, but to also send out a strong message to big businesses that cheating is not OK!