Campaign launched for High Pay Commission as executive pay continues to increase

As reported in today’s Guardian, a coalition of over 100 individuals organised by Compass have joined a campaign calling for the establishment of a High Pay Commission. Compass report that:

“An employee working a 40 hour week earning the minimum wage would have to work for around 226 years to receive the same remuneration as a FTSE 100 CEO does in just one year.”

Meanwhile, data compiled by Left Foot Forward from Manifest and the Office of National Statistics’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings show that CEO remuneration packages are now 168 times the median wage. This has increased from 68 times in 1998. The graph below shows how the ratio between the respective pay packages of FTSE100 CEOs and average workers has changed over the last 10 years. While median earnings are up 40% in a decade, CEO pay is up 343%.

Adam Lent, head of economics at the Trade Union Congress, speaking exclusively to Left Foot Forward said:

“The focus on attracting very high earners to the UK has led to these big disparities in wage levels. But if we’re going to restore demand to the place it was at before the crash we need to focus on what ordinary workers take home to ensure that they have enough money in their pockets to buy the goods that drive the British economy.”