BL Premium reports that Woolworths CEO Roy Bagattini, an outspoken proponent of a “living wage” for store employees, earned R122.4m in the 2023 financial year, more than three times what he earned in the previous year.
This as his long-term share options vested. Bagattini earned R90.6m for work in SA and was paid AUD$2.6m (R31.8m) as he spent some time in Australia, where the group’s clothing chain Country Road is located. His remuneration included base pay equal to R20.4m, short-term annual incentives of R28m, long-term share options awarded three-years ago that amounted to R66.7m and R7.1m in share dividends. In the Woolworths results presentation in August last year, Bagattini spoke about the importance of a living wage and inequality. “I don’t think we spend enough time talking about the social component of ESG ([environmental, social and governance], which is just as important particularly in the context of a country like ours, with the challenges we face in terms of social inequality.” He indicated that Woolworths paid 60% above the minimum wage and 25% above the retail sector. In 2022, Woolworths allocated R120m over three years to lift minimum wages. The retailer also announced last year that it would increase its minimum wage from about R33.40 an hour in 2022 to R41.25 for 2023. If the lowest-paid worker takes home a minimum R41.25 an hour and works eight hours a day at an average 22 days a month, that employee would earn R7,260 a month or R87,120 a year. While workers do not have the same skills or responsibilities as an executive, the CEO earned more than 1,400 times the lowest-paid worker in 2023. Woolworths COO Sam Ngumeni earned just under R100m for the year, as he took home R71m in long-term share awards.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Katharine Child at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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