Centrica shareholders urged to reject CEO’s ‘obscene’ bonus

Unite has called on Centrica shareholders to reject the remuneration package for chief executive officer (CEO) Chris O’Shea at the firm’s annual general meeting on Tuesday (June 13).

On top of his annual salary of £790,000, Mr O’Shea is set to receive a cash bonus of £1.42 million and a long-term share bonus of £2.3 million.

Mr O’Shea presided over British Gas, which is owned by Centrica, when it sent debt enforcement agents to break into the homes of vulnerable customers to install prepay metres.

As a direct result of the energy crisis, which has seen people’s electricity and gas bill soar to unaffordable heights, Centrica’s profits tripled in 2022 to a record-breaking high of £3.3 billion.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Chris O’Shea’s apology for British Gas sending debt enforcement agents to break into the homes of its poorest and most vulnerable customers to install prepay metres means nothing. He’s still laughing all the way to the bank with a £3.7 million bonus.

“Centrica’s shareholders need to vote his remuneration package down. Mr O’Shea’s obscene bonus is just one glaring example of the epidemic of profiteering afflicting the country. Corporate greedflation is breaking our economy and something needs to be done about it.”

By Ryan Fletcher