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Labour calls for 'responsible and better' capitalism | Labour calls for 'responsible and better' capitalism |
(40 minutes later) | |
Labour has called for "more responsible and better capitalism" and policies to tackle excessive executive pay. | Labour has called for "more responsible and better capitalism" and policies to tackle excessive executive pay. |
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said increasing transparency was the key to address high salaries. | Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said increasing transparency was the key to address high salaries. |
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today, he called for simplified pay packages and the creation of a league table showing how much more bosses earn than workers. | Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today, he called for simplified pay packages and the creation of a league table showing how much more bosses earn than workers. |
The Conservatives are expected to announce their own policies on executive pay later this weekend. | The Conservatives are expected to announce their own policies on executive pay later this weekend. |
Mr Umunna said excessive executive pay was "symptomatic" of the "kind capitalism that has grown up in the country over the last 30 years". | |
"What we need is a more responsible and better capitalism," he said. | "What we need is a more responsible and better capitalism," he said. |
Labour was not against people being rewarded for taking risks and creating jobs, he explained. | Labour was not against people being rewarded for taking risks and creating jobs, he explained. |
But there was a problem when pay awards appeared to "bear no relation to performance" - a situation that "undermines trust in the whole system", he said. | |
Labour says it accepts in full the recommendations the High Pay Commission and urged ministers to do the same. | Labour says it accepts in full the recommendations the High Pay Commission and urged ministers to do the same. |
The commission - set up by a pressure group - had said the disparity between what top executives and average workers earn has been building for many years. | The commission - set up by a pressure group - had said the disparity between what top executives and average workers earn has been building for many years. |
Mr Umunna said said there was no single measure that could be used to tackle high pay, but there was a "need to increase transparency". | |
"You need to simplify remuneration packages, so you've got one salary and one performance-related element," he said. | |
Companies should also publish a pay ratio between the highest paid executive and the company median average - and the government could publish a league table highlighting the biggest pay gaps, he suggested. | |
Accountability was another important element, and this could be tackled by putting an obligation on investors and pension fund managers to disclose how they vote on remuneration packages, he said. |