Action is needed on 'repugnant' new figures after workers made heroic sacrifices to keep society together
The GMB Union, which represents more than 600,000 workers across all sections of the economy, has called for urgent action to reduce the 'repugnant' pay gap which shows it would take a minimum wage worker more than 200 years to earn an average CEO salary.
New analysis by the High Pay Centre shows that the average CEO salary last year was £3.6 million – equivalent to £941 an hour.
It would take a worker on the full minimum wage rate of £8.72 an hour 212 years to earn the same annual salary on 37.5 hours per week.
It would take the average (median) full-time male employee 107 years to reach the same CEO salary, and the average full-time female employee would take 129 years to earn the same amount.
The average CEO’s pay will have earned more than the median full-time worker will earn in the whole of 2021 by 17:30 today, the High Pay Centre’s analysis reveals.
Warren Kenny, GMB Acting General Secretary, said:
“These repugnant figures expose the sheer scale of inequality and exploitation in the workplace.
“Urgent action is needed to reign in executive pay in the private sector. At a minimum, this must include extending collective bargaining, putting in place a real living wage, and guaranteeing workers a position on company boards.
“The workers who have made heroic sacrifices keep society together during the outbreak deserve better – it is time for corporate leaders, shareholders and politicians to wake up and take action.”
