AUSTRALIA: UNIONS TO PUSH FOR RADICAL NEW CAP ON EXECUTIVE SALARIES AND BONUSES

Salaries for CEOs should be capped at ten times an enterprise’s average wages and shareholders should be able to sue for poor executive performance, say unions. The ACTU today released a new analysis showing the average pay for top CEOs has risen astronomically and is now 63 times average weekly earnings. ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said the national Congress of the Australian unions meeting this week in Brisbane (Tuesday 2-4 June) would consider an important new proposal to curb irresponsible behaviour by executives and impose stringent criteria on CEO pay and bonuses. “Outrageous executive salaries and bonuses encouraged a culture of excessive risk-taking and short-term thinking that is widely acknowledged as a major cause of the Global Financial Crisis,” said Mr Lawrence. continue reading