Ministers urged to adopt commission’s report on ‘obscene’ boardroom
pay
22 November 2011
The government should adopt the recommendations in the High Pay
Commission report calling for the curbing of excessive boardroom
pay as ‘a matter of urgency’, Unite, the largest union in the
country, said today (Tuesday, 22 November).
Unite said that the current pay ratios between the top bosses
and the rest of the workforce, highlighted by the report, were
‘obscene’.
Unite repeated its demand, which was included in its submission
to the commission, that there should be employee representation on
the remuneration committees as a mechanism to curb bosses’ pay,
which is now out of all proportion to average pay of about
£25,900-a-year.
Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey said: ‘Unite agrees with
the report’s conclusions that this enormous disparity is corrosive
to the economy and we call on ministers to implement the report’s
12 recommendations as a matter of urgency.’
‘These obscene pay levels enjoyed by the very few at the top
also has a wider corrosive effect on society as a whole, widening
social and economic inequalities. What is particularly galling is
that some of these executives are presiding over organisations that
aren’t performing well in the first place.’
‘Institutional shareholders need to exercise much greater scrutiny
and control of directors’ pay and bonuses – and if this report’s
recommendations were implemented, this would greatly assist this
process. There needs to be much greater transparency.’
This new report comes after the recent survey by Income Data
Services (IDS) that revealed that directors of FTSE 100 companies
had received a 49 per cent pay rise in the last year.
At the time, Unite described as the IDS report as ‘damning’ and
showed just how much these ‘pampered’ directors were removed
from the lives of working people.
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Note to news editors:
For further information, please contact Unite communications
officer, Shaun Noble on 07768 693940
