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Union federations call for a cap on maximum pay of executives

Details

earningsSunday World reports that trade union federations are concerned about the depletion of earning power for the working class while fat cats in businesses, particularly in the banking sector, are rewarded very handsomely.

Last week the union federations – including the Cosatu, Saftu and Nactu – expressed concern about the “unjustifiable and obscenely high packages” earned by the CEOs in the banking sector. According to BusinessTech, among CEO top earners, the head of Investec, Fani Titi, earned R175-million, including perks, in the last reporting period. This was nearly R500,000 a day, an amount equal to a salary of a middle manager in the sector. Titi was followed in earnings by Mike Brown, CEO of Nedbank, who in the same reporting period pocketed R92-million, an equivalent of R253,425 a day. Cosatu national spokesperson Matthew Parks said they could not accept banking CEOs making obscene salaries while their organisations paid bank tellers a pittance. He indicated: “We look forward to the President signing the Companies Amendment Bill, which will require listed companies to disclose their wage gap in the annual report to shareholders and the public. We need to further tighten legislation to put in place the maximum wage that can be allowed.” Parks added: “It is immoral to pay workers slave wages. It does not make economic sense to those workers who will not be able to buy food and have transport money they need to be productive at work or even to buy the goods businesses produce.” Nactu’s general secretary Narius Moloto said it was sad that huge inequality gaps in incomes 30 years after democracy, “are still the order of the day.” “What is happening at the banks is unethical and evil,” he stated.

  • Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jo Mangaliso Mdhlela at Sunday World


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