A TD has called for a 'dramatic narrowing' of the pay gap between bosses and workers and has proposed a number of measures to fight the growing inequality in Irish society.
Solidarity TD Mick Barry's call came after research by the Irish Times revealed that the bosses of Ireland’s top 20 companies (ISEQ 20) are paid on average 33 times more than their staff.
The research into the Republic’s top 20 listed companies revealed that pay for the top 20 bosses in Ireland increased 5.25% to €35.8m in the most recent accounts while the salaries of employees rose 2.5%.
It found that the pay of chief executives rose from €34.09m to €35.88m while remuneration of employees in those companies increased from €13.35bn to €13.69bn.
This means the average pay for an ISEQ 20 CEO now stands at €1.88m per annum compared to an average pay rate for ISEQ 20 employees of €55,595, a differential of 33 to 1.
Responding to the figures Deputy Barry said capitalism was creating a society of extreme inequality in Ireland and internationally.
"The pay gap between bosses and workers is a good example of that inequality. Despite being responsible for actually creating the nation’s wealth, working people receive only a fraction of it back in the form of wages. If you want to challenge the rampant inequality in Irish society you need to look at measures which will dramatically narrow this pay gap.”
Deputy Barry said that measures that need to be considered include a sharp increase in the minimum wage, the introduction of a maximum wage and the introduction of a millionaires tax.
Average pay of a CEO in one of Ireland’s top 20 companies €1.88m last year. Time for a debate on a maximum wage?
— Mick Barry TD (@MickBarryTD) August 20, 2018