The head of UK’s trade union federation has called for executive pay to come down and for ordinary workers to have a pay rise.
General secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Paul Nowak said: “It’s time to hold down pay at the top – not wages for everyone else.
“The government needs to clamp down on greedy pay and bonus culture by putting workers on company pay boards and introducing maximum pay ratios.”
Mr Nowak called on the government to give all public sector workers a pay rise and set out a plan to increase the minimum wage to £15 and introduce agreements to increase wages across industries.
Official data has consistently shown a gap in the wage rises between public and private sector workers, and that wage increases have failed to keep up with inflation.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures released this month showed pay rose at an annual rate of 6.6% in the three months up to February, while the annual rate of inflation remained in double digits.
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Mr Nowak’s comments follow calls from the head of the London Stock Exchange for company bosses to be paid more.
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Julia Hoggett said a “constructive discussion” on executive pay was needed to avoid talent going elsewhere.
“The alternative is we continue standing idly by as our biggest exports become skills, talent, tax revenue and the companies that generate it,” she said.
In an effort to make London more competitive, the financial watchdog, also on Wednesday, announced proposed changes to the rules governing listings on the London Stock Exchange.
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The changes have been proposed after a series of valuable companies opted to list on the New York Stock Exchange, which has been seen as a blow to the attractiveness of a London listing.
