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55% rises for the rich. We’re all in it together?

The Financial Times reports today that FTSE100 directors gave themselves on average a 55% rise last year. Kelvin Hopkins, MP for Luton North, said the pay packages were a “moral outrage”, and TUC general secretary Bendan Barber said it blew away “any claim that we are all in this together.” The contrast with public service pay freezes and half a million redundancies, benefits cuts and attacks on the welfare state could not be more stark.

Yesterday, the Morning Star reported on another report by IDS (Income Data Services) on which the FT report was based. This revealed that pay deals covering 1.5 million workers were worth between just 2 and 3 percent, compared with RPI of 4.6 percent — a real reduction of around two percent.

One Comment

  1. Jon Lansman says:

    Mehdi Hassan is arguing that Ed Miliband should be taking this up:

    So Ed, where are you? Still running from the “Red” tag? Let’s be clear. There is nothing “red” about objecting to reckless, irresponsible and unfair pay rises and telephone-number salaries. In fact, the public would be on your side if you did – polls show voters support a high pay commission and higher taxes on bonuses and object to the growing gap between rich and poor in modern Britain.

    He warns that Barack Obama failed to stake out a “left populist” position on bonuses, pay and corporate excesses in the wake of the financial crisis and now faces a drubbing from the Republicans and the Tea Party movement in next week’s midterm elections.

    And Dave Osler quotes the best gag on this he’s seen from Jonathan Guthrie of the Financial Times:

    Short of throwing a champagne celebration for themselves outside a Merthyr Tydfil jobcentre, FTSE 100 bosses could not have shown less tact.’

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