Excessive executive salaries proven to damage the corporate bottom line

Robertson says the onus is now on the union movement to build on the research by campaigning with their members to raise pressure for political change to make company boards more accountable.

Time for Change

In the report, the authors identify a range of reforms to address the pay blowout and increase accountability, including:-

• Government use of purchasing policy to encourage firms with moderate executive packages.
• The Australian Stock Exchange's (ASX) regulatory functions are compromised, as the ASX is itself a privately listed company. These functions should be transferred to a fully independent entity such as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
• Restricting the use and abuse of share options by means of a specified cap on the ratio of executive options to the company's total share issue and via the imposition of a minimum vesting period of three years.
• Action, including legislation, to make superannuation funds more accountable for executive pay decisions, with nominees required to report to members on executive pay decisions.
• Registration of all organizations providing commercial services in the field of executive remuneration, with annual reports required to a relevant statutory authority.
• Introduction of more stringent disclosure requirements, requiring formal shareholder approval for all executive salary decisions.

For a full copy of the report, click here.