CEOs ‘compensated 100 times more than average workers’

MELBOURNE - The typical CEO is pocketing almost 100 times what the average worker gets paid.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) report on remuneration paid to CEOs in listed companies focused on the point that gap is widening between salaries being paid to bosses and employees.

ACTU president Ged Kearney said the Executive PayWatch 2010 report highlighted the blatant hypocrisy of big business executives in pushing for industrial relations deregulation.

“The numbers in this report tell a story of greed and inequality. They show that after a brief hiatus in 2008 and 2009, the pay packets of company executives are again rising sharply,” News.com.au quoted him as saying.

“Ridiculously high salaries and unwarranted bonuses contributed to the financial meltdown by encouraging executives to take risks in pursuit of short-term profits,” he added.

The study has found that after a short period of restraint in 2008-09, when the global financial crisis hit Australia, executive pay has hit new heights, the ACTU says.

The average CEO would this year take home 6.4 million dollars in total remunerationas the executive pay rose by an average of more than 940,000 dollars or 17.2 per cent over the past year.

By comparison, the annual wage of a full-time worker rose by 3200 dollars, or 5.2 per cent.

ACTU said company profits soared by 27.5 per cent in the past 12 months to a record share of the national economy, while wages share was the lowest since 1964. (ANI)