1,592 views
Social Justice > Published by Alex Hern, November 22nd 2011 at 1:10 pm

‘Workers are children, and if you don’t like high pay, move to Cuba’

Print Friendly

Dr Heather McGregor, the director of headhunting firm Taylor Bennett, appeared on Radio Four’s Today programme today to defend high executive pay in the most jaw-dropping way possible.

McGregor started the interview by claiming we already have worker representation on pay committees, because some workers have pensions, and some pensions have worker representation, and some pensions with worker representation own large enough shares in companies to make it on to the renumeration committee, so there needn’t be any change.

She went on from there to compare workers to children, saying to John Humphrys:

“John, you have young children, you would not give your children a say in how much money you allocate yourself every year for clothes or for haircuts.”

Finally, she closed her case by pointing out that workers are allowed a say on pay in workers co-operatives, and they have workers co-operatives in Cuba, so if you think executive pay is too high, you should move to Cuba.

Of course, if one wanted to debunk her, one could point out that private companies have worker representation on pay committees in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Sweden (in the EU alone), or that we actually have workers co-operatives in the UK as well.

But really, she does the job herself.

Listen to the excerpt:

Don”t like high executive pay? "Move to Cuba" (mp3)

And read a transcript:

John Humphrys: Are you seriously saying that it doesn’t matter how much the boss, of a publicly quoted company, and we’re not talking about entrepreneurs, who make billions…

Dr Heather McGregor: It matters, but it matters to their shareholders. And their shareholders –

JH: Not to the workers? Not to the workers at all, you don’t think that somebody earning £20 grand a year looks at a boss earning £20 million a year and thinks “that’s not right…”

HM: I think that the people who should set the pay, for the people at the top of companies, public companies, are the people that own those companies.

JH: But you know as well as I do that there’s a nice little merry-go-round, they’re all members of the same kinda clubs –

HM: That’s absolutely not, and –

JH: Renumeration committees don’t have members on them who are members of other committees?

HM: That’s not true, and furthermore we do already have worker representation.

JH: Really? You know it’s true, I’ve met them.

HM: We have workers, we have worker representation on pension funds already, all over the country on big pension funds, and those people do have a say. I mean at the moment –

JH: So they have a say on the renumeration –

Deborah Hargreaves (chair of the High Pay Commission): Well that works very well, so why shouldn’t we do it for pay?

HM: No, that is the same thing because they are representing their pension funds who are the owners of these shares, so we already have worker representation. John, you have young children, you would not give your children a say in how much money you allocate yourself every year for clothes or for haircuts.

JH: I’m not sure that’s relevant really…

HM: Yes it is relevant! It absolutely is relevant. We do not operate workers co-operatives. If they all want to work in a workers co-operative everybody can move to Cuba. These companies are owned by their shareholders, and it is the shareholders who should have the say on executive pay and not the workers.

See also:

• Unless pay gaps are reduced, we’ll end up with Victorian levels of inequality – Shamik Das, November 22nd 2011

• As top pay soars, the 99% are left behind – Will Straw, October 28th 2011

• High pay damages our economy – Duncan Exley, October 28th 2011

• Lifting the lid on Low Pay Britain – Lee Savage, October 4th 2011

• Cable gets it on pay and inequality – unlike the greedy IoD – Larissa Hansford, September 19th 2011

  • http://twitter.com/jules_lewis Jules Lewis

    I seem to remember that before she backtracked on worker representation, she said it was a daft idea, until it was pointed out that it happens in Germany…

    Ludicrous and offensive woman, but necessary, because she inadvertently exposes the motivations of the 1%.

  • Anonymous

    Lets see how it goes when its the other way round.

    I’ve posted that if you get high paid people, you get high tax revenues from them. I’ve also pointed out that eventually people will decide, enough is enough. The inevitable reply from left wing posters is if you don’t like it f-off.

    Then when I point out, look at Google, They took your advice and moved. Yes, they are capitalistic scum being the summary of the reply. But they took your advice and moved. Yes, but we want the tax money.

    If you want more taxes, then high paid people pay a higher proportion of their wages in tax. So if people are highly paid, the government gets more than if the wages were distributed.

    What do you want? Higher tax revenues to spend or waste as you see fit?

    All do you want the rich to leave (or rather, more subtle, their assets and the tax revenues they generate). The latter you can’t stop, because capital controls are illegal under EU law [unless you derogate]

    50% of nothing, is nothing.

    Mind you, it does wonders for inequality.

    The rich person leaves. That means the UK can’t tax them. Average wages go down, inequality goes down. However, the government is short of cash. So it has to raise taxes on the rest, impoverishing them.

    So people become poorer in absolute terms, but hip hip hooray!, inequality is reduced. Not quite how the poor will see it, but ….

  • http://twitter.com/yrotitna/status/138984810155741185 Juan Voet

    The case for workers' representation on remuneration committees just got a lot stronger thanks to Dr Heather McGregor http://t.co/BHlWJERv

  • http://twitter.com/faizashaheen/status/138992752334606337 Faiza Shaheen

    Crazy right wing people… RT @leftfootfwd: ‘Workers are children, and if you don’t like high pay, move to Cuba’ http://t.co/BMr1Ygj0

  • http://twitter.com/nico_rjinders/status/138994292923441152 Nico Rjinders

    Crazy right wing people… RT @leftfootfwd: ‘Workers are children, and if you don’t like high pay, move to Cuba’ http://t.co/BMr1Ygj0

  • http://twitter.com/creativecrip/status/138998222831091712 TheCreativeCrip

    “@leftfootfwd: 'Staff behave like children, and if you don't like high pay, move to Cuba': http://t.co/a4X5tGLV @alexhern” Speechless!

  • http://twitter.com/byrontaylor74/status/139007784225214465 Byron Taylor

    RT @leftfootfwd: ‘Workers are children, and if you don’t like high pay, move to Cuba’ http://t.co/QzSYuXVU

  • http://twitter.com/routledgeeditor/status/139008314855006209 Terry Clague

    RT @TheRightArticle ‘Workers are children, and if you don’t like high pay, move to Cuba’ – http://t.co/q00qvwHw

  • Iriseye

    You wish your opinion was based on reality Mr blagger but from what I’ve read so far it is largely based upon the myth that there is anywhere else to go to! Goodbye!

  • http://twitter.com/socialistproduc/status/139070191278620672 Socialist Production

    The case for workers' representation on remuneration committees just got a lot stronger thanks to Dr Heather McGregor http://t.co/BHlWJERv

  • http://twitter.com/borniirt/status/139090812205154305 Born írt:

    #bornirt 'Workers are children, and if you don't like high pay, move to Cuba': Of course, if… http://t.co/DILXMtiK

  • http://twitter.com/lighthearteddan/status/139100594165121024 Daniel Weichman

    The case for workers' representation on remuneration committees just got a lot stronger thanks to Dr Heather McGregor http://t.co/BHlWJERv

  • http://twitter.com/castorales/status/139125471190331394 Duncan Vessey

    'Staff behave like children, and if you don't like high pay, move to Cuba': http://t.co/5bszfppC reports @alexhern

  • http://twitter.com/Newsbot9 Newsbot9

    So instead you want the poor to be killed through being unable to afford housing, food and utilities.

    This versus the myth of rich people leaving. Oh, a few do, but even from the Nordic countries with their 50% actual tax rates it’s VERY few.

  • http://twitter.com/podwangler/status/140134887649853440 Pod Wangler

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://twitter.com/seusssl/status/140136159601893376 seuss

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://twitter.com/neilrfoster/status/140136666919735296 neilrfoster

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://twitter.com/wtbdavidg/status/140139230088265728 David Gillon

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://twitter.com/worutd/status/140147715932815360 Brian Tomkinson

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://twitter.com/nick569/status/140153947171196929 Nick Durrant

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://twitter.com/gillduane/status/140155747433582593 Gill Duane

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://twitter.com/acerihughes/status/140156443700625408 ceri hughes

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://twitter.com/tklotzdavenport/status/140162788147474433 Tim Klotz Davenport

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://twitter.com/goodoldmj/status/140175056142729216 Martin Johnston

    #MostRead #3: @AlexHern on the scumbag who called workers "children" & said critics of obscene pay shd "move to Cuba": http://t.co/LU98jCtA

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/11/look-left-25-11-11/ Look Left – Workers prepare to fight slasher Osborne | Left Foot Forward

    [...] is as enlightened. Cue Dr Heather McGregor, director of headhunting firm Taylor Bennett, who appeared on Radio Four’s Today programme on Wednesday to defend high executive pay in the most [...]

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/11/pay-increases-by-just-2-3-per-cent-in-the-last-three-months/ Pay increases by just 2.3 per cent in the last three months | Left Foot Forward

    [...] ‘Workers are children, and if you don’t like high pay, move to Cuba’ – Alex Hern, November 22nd [...]

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/vince-cable-executive-pay/ Cable fails to provide a stick or carrot in the fight against obscene pay | Left Foot Forward

    [...] ‘Workers are children, and if you don’t like high pay, move to Cuba’ - Alex Hern, November 22nd [...]