Chamber of Labour Criticises High CEO Salaries

Chamber of Labour Criticises High CEO Salaries

Image: APA/THEMENBILD/ROLAND SCHLAGER

 

The Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK) has once again called for a reduction in the high salaries of top executives, stating that the highest-paid CEOs earn 81 times the median income of Austrian employees.

The AK’s critique comes on what it refers to as ‘Fat Cat Day.’

According to the AK, CEOs of companies listed on the Austrian Traded Index (ATX), known as “Fat Cats,” earn an hourly wage of €814. By 8 p.m. on 8 January – “Fat Cat Day” – an ATX CEO will have already earned the typical annual wage of an Austrian worker, which in 2023 was €38,748. This calculation assumes CEOs work 12-hour days, take only 10 days off each year, and have every fourth weekend free.

For comparison, AK President Renate Anderl earns five times the median income, while AK Director Silvia Hruška-Frank earns seven times the median.

The Chamber of Labour is urging supervisory boards to ensure a fair relationship between executive pay and employee wages. While the AK has not defined what it considers “appropriate,” it suggests companies should set upper limits on individual board member salaries and align pay with broader goals, such as environmental sustainability, social responsibility and governance (ESG).

Among the highest-paid executives in Austria’s ATX index in 2023 were former Schoeller-Bleckmann CEO Gerald Grohmann, who earned nearly €9.5 million, and BAWAG CEO Anas Abuzaakouk, whose salary topped €9 million.

Criticism of the remuneration practices, especially at BAWAG, has also been raised by the Investors’ Association (IVA), which has questioned the transparency of the pay structure and its proportionality when compared to other companies in the sector.

“Motivating the right performers in international competition in a strategy-compliant manner is a balancing act that doesn’t always satisfy every critic,” said IVA board member Florian Beckermann. “The supervisory board is called to make adjustments. However, BAWAG remains an outlier in terms of compensation and is not the norm in Austria. Internationally, the domestic ‘Fat Cat’ debate would be a rather sad satire without BAWAG.”

Don’t have an account yet? 

Latest News

Reach out for a handcrafted promotion of your business or product.