Top CEOs in Britain earn 118 times more than workers

Major company executives listed on the stock exchange in Britain saw their salaries increase by 16 percent last year, while workers and employees experienced the worst living crisis in a generation, according to a study published on Tuesday. 

The "High Pay Centre," an independent research center, stated that the average salary of a CEO of a company listed on the "Financial Times 100 Index" reached 118 times more than the average full-time worker's salary in the United Kingdom. This increase was up from 108 times in 2021. 

Pascal Soriot of the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca holds the highest-paid CEO position, earning £16.85 million ($21.5 million), surpassing Charles Woodburn of the defense and military manufacturing company BAE Systems, who earned £10.69 million. 

The study concluded that the average CEO salary for companies in the FTSE 100 Index rose from £3.38 million in 2021 to £3.91 million in 2022. 

Unions responded, stating that these findings demonstrate that Britain has become a "land of grotesque extremism." 

Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, remarked, "While millions of families are facing budget cuts due to the cost of living crisis, corporate directors are enjoying significant wage increases." 

Official figures indicated that workers received average wage increases of 7.8 percent during the three months until June, compared to the previous year. However, this percentage drops to 0.6 percent when accounting for inflation. 

Luke Hildyard, Director of the "High Pay Centre," stated, "At a time when many households are grappling with living costs, an economic model that prioritizes raising the salaries of millions of executives by half a million pounds must surely be pursuing a fundamentally flawed approach." 

He added, "We need to give workers a stronger voice in company boards, enhance union rights, and empower individuals with lower and medium incomes to obtain a fairer share compared to those at the top." 

The UK witnessed strikes across various sectors of the economy last year, involving ambulance drivers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers, amidst rising inflation that led to increased housing, food, and heating costs. 

Inflation remained among the highest in the Group of Seven (G7) countries despite the Bank of England raising its key interest rate over a dozen times in succession to tame it. Inflation currently stands at 6.8 percent, down from 7.9 percent in June. 

AFP