Executive pay should be capped at 20 times average, says union leader

A union leader representing 20 million workers worldwide tonight called for executive salaries to be capped at 20 times the pay of the average worker as he branded the system for rewarding business leaders "corrupt" and a "racket".

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Philip Jennings, general secretary of the UNI global union, said the pay gap between those running companies and their workforces had widened to "unsustainable levels".

High-profile support for the union argument was provided by the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who said the current remuneration model could not be tolerated. "It is morally indefensible and we can't allow a tiny minority to skew the system", Sarkozy said.

The French president added that world leaders should not use recovery from recession as an excuse to slacken the pace of reform. "We need a revolution in world regulation to put labour standards on the same footing as those for trade."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/27/executive-pay-bonuses-davos

about athletes and entertainers and their obscene salaries.

It is most discouraging .

Cap it all at 20 times average wage.

It's complicated.

This is an issue for shareholders, not the government.

If it takes 100X the average worker's pay to get an executive that generates value for the shareholder, so be it.


A company's sole fiduciary duty is to the shareholder...and that's as it should be. The government has the option to change a myriad of regulations...including the tax structure...but it has no business dictating private sector compensation beyond a minimum wage.

If someone does a good job and the company is successful they should be paid handsomely. However, if they run it into the ground there should be no golden parachutes. None of this rewarding failure anymore.

then we certainly have the right to dictate a maximum wage.

which says a lot

Sometimes, we have to tell people to behave.

Also an issue for those who made the value work. And further it is dependent on the environment that allowed the value to rise.

The belief that the sole responsibility of the company is to the shareholders is an untruism. They have been granted the opportunity to be a company by the public. They have no inherent right to that authority other than to serve the public.

By giving the right to be a company the government has every right to set the rules. If the company decides to be a private enterprise then that comes under different rules.

20 times the pay of the average union worker on the movie.

i wonder how many in hollywood would go for it.

They're not even in the same ballpark.

if a "star" CEO can't be paid more than 20X a line worker, then neither should a "star" actor

imnsho