Recent revelations about sky-rocketing pay packages being awarded to the chief executives of some of Ireland’s top companies put workers seeking pay rises to counteract the impact of 7% inflation firmly into perspective.
These reports that the median pay of the chief executives of some of the largest companies listed on Dublin’s ISEQ that, have so far published annual reports for 2021, demonstrate that ‘The pay packages of some CEOs have risen by up to 70-75% between 2020 and 2021 - ten times the current inflation rate.
General Secretary Patricia King said: ‘Just before the pandemic hit, ICTU published a report Because We’re Worth It – the truth about CEO pay in Ireland, which revealed that it would take the average worker over 200 years in some cases to earn what the CEOs of some of Ireland’s top listed companies receive in one year.
‘These recent revelations, indicate that this imbalance has only worsened over the past two years. In some cases, it would now take the average worker almost 300 years to earn what CEOs are now being given.
It should also be noted that some of these companies are listed in the Revenue Report relating to the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, introduced in order to safeguard the jobs and incomes of workers in companies affected by the pandemic.
‘Unlike some other European countries which introduced similar measures, Ireland did not adopt any conditions in relation to executive pay, such as a ban on bonuses introduced by the Netherlands.
‘Pay rises of up to 75% for CEOs puts the campaign by workers to counter-act the impact of rising inflation firmly into perspective’, Ms King concluded.
