NPOWER chief executive, Paul Massara last week dismissed giving up his £150,000 annual bonus in response to fury over rising energy prices as a "gimmick."

Some gimmick - that gesture could pay the annual energy bills of a hundred cash-strapped pensioners.

Lets look at some facts:

Mr Masara told the BBC he earns, before his performance related bonuses, about £450,000 a year.

Energy bills are now at a record high of an average £1,315 a year.

Twenty-eight per cent of over-65s said their main concern for the cold months is ensuring they can heat their homes.

The same Age UK survey warned that 24,000 older people may not survive the upcoming cold snap.

Since the start of the century, the price paid by households for gas has more than doubled, while the cost of electricity has increased by 70 per cent.

From December 1, Npower will hike average gas prices by 11.1 per cent and electricity prices by 9.3 per cent at a time when price inflation is at 2.2 per cent and average wage increases are a measly 0.7 per cent.

Gimmick-free Npower is one of the region's biggest private employers.

Its largest UK call centre, which, incidentally boasts an onsite gym and subsidised canteen, employs about 2,000 workers in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, and the company has a 570 strong team of customer service advisors at Thornaby, near Stockton, with about 500 complaints and support staff in Peterlee, County Durham.

The firm is mulling over a massive cost cutting exercise which could see hundreds, some insiders say thousands, of jobs sent overseas. Understandably these are very worrying times for Npower staff who fear a jobs cull is just around the corner. 

In addition, billing problems linked to new computer systems have left frontline Npower staff facing a barrage of customer complaints. 

Morale is at rock bottom, one employee told me.

Bosses last week made a bid to lift spirits by announcing that the ban on staff eating lunch at their desks was being lifted and that dress code guidelines were being relaxed.

So, instead of being given assurances about their jobs Npower workers are now allowed to eat their Greggs steak bakes without leaving the desk and to wear jeans at work.

If I didn't know better I'd say that sounded like a gimmick.

BILL Marley, who was the subject of Monday's Meet the Boss feature in The Northern Echo, is one of those inspirational figures whose enthusiasm for what he does is infectious.

After a successful career in manufacturing Bill has set up a charity, The Employability Trust, which helps disadvantaged young people in our region to build up their work skills.

Bill is using his contacts in the local manufacturing industry to find jobs and work experience for his young charges.

His remarkable success rate has attracted the interest of Government ministers who can only dream of achieving similar results with their own half-baked work programmes.

If any businesses want to help Bill email: success@theemployabilitytrust.com or visit www.theemployabilitytrust.com

Follow me on Twitter @bizecho