End Fat Cat Rule

FORMER ICI boss and management guru John Harvey-Jones calls huge fat-cat executive pay "obscene and unnecessary." But the fat cats ignore this rebuke from a fellow boss - they're sneering all the way to the bank.

Senior directors of Britain's top companies got an average 23% rise last year, making them 84% better-paid over the last three years, despite a slump on the stock markets.

The average pay of a chief executive - including bonuses, share options and incentives, is now well over £1.6 million a year.

A Guardian survey shows a record 190 directors of companies in the FTSE-100 were paid over £1 million last year. One director, BHP mining boss Brian Gilbertson, got a gold mine of his own with a total pay deal worth £9.1 million, then had a row with the board and left with a £16 million departure gift.

New City of London guidelines say directors should "take account of shop-floor pay" when giving themselves huge increases. But many ordinary employees are being made redundant through the failings of their system, while average earnings are up just 3% and take home pay is in reality declining (see article below).

Pampered fat cats get huge signing-on fees - James Nicol of Tomkins received nearly £2 million. They then get golden goodbyes like Gilbertson's when they go.

They get huge pension pots - Sir Richard Sykes of GKN has built up £15 million to help him survive when he retires.

They get share options which could make them rich if their company does well - Matt Barrett of Barclays got well over £11 million worth of Barclays' shares - he's not likely to get a stroppy letter from his bank manager.

Fat-cat pay at a time when workers are facing the dole and/or reduced wages is just the clearest sign of an unequal capitalist system which creates terrible poverty in the midst of wealth worldwide.

Join our battle for a socialist alternative to remove society from the rule of fat-cat capitalists and their political defenders and run it to meet people's needs.

Donate to the Socialist Party

Coronavirus crisis - Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
Our 'fighting coronavirus workers' charter', outlines a programme to combat the virus and protect workers' living conditions.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.