Workers union Unite has urged the Government to force banks to overhaul their remuneration policies after publishing research on bankers’ pay, revealing the basic pay and cash payments of the chief executives of HBoS, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Barclays and HSBC totalled more than £52m over five years.
The report, which was compiled by the independent think tank Labour Research Department, examines the pay of senior executives from financial service firms between 2003 and 2007.
It revealled that across RBS, Lloyds and HBoS, a selection of executive directors have earned a combined £122m in pay and bonuses, including more than £64m in cash bonuses alone.
The total remuneration, excluding share-based payments, for a handful of executives included in the annual reports of the major British finance companies totalled an eye-watering £729.3m.
Unite urged the Government to appoint a representative to the boards of the bailed-out banks, with the power to oversee and ensure a fair and transparent pay policy, and called on the FSA to act “meaningfully” to change remuneration practices, arguing that it was the richly rewarded executive directors who have made the high-risk decisions that have damaged the economy. Members of the union protested outside Lloyds’ annual general meeting last week, many wearing t-shirts with the slogan ‘Secure Jobs = Secure Bank’.
Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of the Union, said millions of people in the UK faced an uncertain New Year due to the decisions of the directors, and called for action to end the rot across Britain’s boardrooms.
He said: “Boardroom pay practices are not only unjust, they have contributed to the worst financial crisis in decades. As taxpayers we now have a significant stake in the country’s banking system.
“We urge the Government to set an example and take an active approach to ensure fairness in the boardroom and an end to rewards for failure.”
Simpson added: “The reality for ordinary bank workers is insecurity, unpaid overtime, inferior pension schemes, onerous performance targets and below-inflation pay increases. For the culprits of the credit crunch it was gold-plated pensions, golden handshakes and huge rewards for failure.
“Anyone who thinks that the free market is the way to organise the economy must still think the Titanic is seaworthy.” n
