The Greens have announced their push for salary cap of just under $2 million for the nation’s executives, bringing the cap to around 30 times the country’s average salary.

 

A recent finding by the Financial Review show that the average pay of CEO’s of Australia’s top 50 listed companies to be $6.4 million, meaning the proposed cuts would reduce their pay by up to two-thirds.

 

The Greens have demanded a remuneration limitation of $1.98 million as results published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the average wage of Australians to be $68,000 per annum.

 

The Greens push to have the caps installed is in direct contravention with the current national pay reforms that have recently passed through parliament and are awaiting passage through the senate, which will be dependent on the Coalition’s support if the Greens refuse to back the current legislation.

 

The Federal Government’s ‘two-strike’ rule will aim to give greater control to shareholders when deciding remuneration deals in AGMs. However, the Coalition has criticized the move, saying that as only an average of 48% of shareholders vote, a disproportionate degree of influence would be awarded to a smaller group of investors. 

 

The announcement comes as Rio Tinto shareholders have lodged a protest vote as the company announced its CEO, Tom Albanese, would be receiving a 31% pay rise, bringing his annual salary to $8.5 million