LONDON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Pay among Britain's top executives is set to rise sharply this year, opening executives up to a new wave of criticism, the editor of an income report said.
"It seems the days of earnings restraint by FTSE directors were short-lived," said Steve Tatton, editor of the IDS Directors' Pay Report, referring to companies listed on London's FTSE 100 stock index.
"It stands in contrast to the Coalition Government's concern about new fairness and calls for senior executives in the public sector to accept pay cuts," he said.
The IDS Directors' Pay Report says executive compensation among Britain's 100 largest firms would rise 55 percent in 2010, The Daily Mail reported Thursday.
While the government debates austerity budget cuts, Reckitt Benckiser Chief Executive Officer Bart Becht is expected to earn $148 million this year. Mining company Xstrata is set to pay its CEO Mick Davis $40.6 million. Michael Spencer, CEO of financial firm ICAP is expected to earn $38.7 million, the newspaper said.
Base pay increases are expected to rise 3.6 percent, in line, more or less, with other workers. Bonus pay among bankers is making the difference. London banks expect to pay $11.15 billion in bonuses this year.
CBI director general Richard Lambert, a former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, has already registered his concern on the huge compensation packages. 'If leaders of big companies seem to occupy a different galaxy from the rest of the community, they risk being treated as aliens," he said earlier this year.
