CEOs now pocketing an average £3.6m in pay

With FTSE 100 CEO pay now back at pre-pandemic levels at a median of £3.6 million, the leader of Unite the union has called out the governor of the Bank of England for failing to speak up on the need for business leaders to exercise restraint in the fight against spiralling inflation.

The call comes as real terms inflation, the Retail Prices Index, now stands at 11 per cent (with CPI at 9.1 per cent) as essential items like food and fuel jump in price.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “CEOs are pocketing around £3.6 million in pay, while others face the appalling choice of whether they can heat or eat, and the Bank of England says nothing. Yet when workers earning a fraction of that want to protect the value of their wages, the governor slaps them down. Where is the call for restraint on multi-million pound pay packets and profiteering on the back of inflation?

“Workers did not cause this crisis – we will not accept any further lectures on pay restraint from rich men on massive salaries,” she added. “Unite is on a mission to make work pay in this country. We are very clear that where employers can afford to raise pay, then we will demand and win a rise for our members.”

Unite was commenting on figures revealed by Deloitte, reported in today’s Financial Times.

By Ryan Fletcher