Commons committee singles out BT for criticism over fat cat pay

The House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has called on Britain’s biggest companies to cap salaries for chief executives and align them more closely with workers, or face the wrath of a new regulator.

The hard-hitting report, which cites BT’s CEO pay package in the analysis, claims that soaring salaries of top bosses at FTSE 100 firms are a symbol of “corporate greed”.

Prospect members in BT are currently being balloted by the union on the company’s job restructuring plans known as the ‘People Framework’, where workers face pay cuts and job losses under the company’s proposed changes.

Prospect national secretary Noel McClean said: “Following last year’s shareholder revolt, BT promised to put its house in order on executive pay and remuneration. The fact that the BEIS committee report singles BT out suggests that the company has failed to do that.

“Prospect is currently in dispute with BT over proposed changes to its workforce structure that includes salary cuts, people losing their jobs and further potential job losses. This news will only serve to heighten the tension in that. This report would seem to suggest BT is targeting the wrong pay group.

“We are advising our members to reject BT’s People Framework in a ballot launched two weeks ago. We want to get BT back around the table.”