Tag Archives: national union of public and general employees

CCPA releases report on CEO pay in Canada

Posted on by

“Workers across the country  are working harder and longer than ever before, only to see their wages frozen and rolled back or jobs eliminated, while CEOs enjoy the riches of our labour. This report reveals just how dramatic the wage divide really is.” – James Clancy, NUPGE National President.

National Union of Public and General Employees

Ottawa (08 Jan. 2014) – A new report looking into the compensation packages for CEOs in Canada says that the country’s highest paid CEOs now make 171 times more than Canadians earning the average wage.

CCPA report analyses Canadian CEO compensation packages

The report, released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, was launched on January 2, the day on which Canadian CEOs already took home as much as what most Canadians will earn in the 365 days of 2014.

All in a Day’s Work? CEO Pay in Canada looks at 2012 compensation levels for the country’s highest paid, finding that they took home an average of $7.96 million compared to the average Canadian wage of $46,634.

Other key findings from the report include:

  • Compensation of Canada’s highest paid 100 CEOs continues to skyrocket, with earnings 171 times higher than the average Canadian income earner—up from 105 times more in 1998
  • There is a new CEO at the top of the compensation list: E. Hunter Harrison, CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway, was Canada’s highest paid CEO in 2012, pocketing $49.1 million in 2012
  • The lowest paid of the top 100 CEOs pocketed $3.85 million
  • There are only three women among Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs
  • Shares and stock options comprise a significant portion of CEO pay
  • Among Canada’s highest paid 100 CEOs, 78 of them received part of their pay in grants of stock and 78 enjoyed stock options
  • The average share in grant in 2012 was valued at $2.87 million; the average option award was valued at $2.17 million

Canadians increasingly frustrated with rising CEO compensation packages

“This report confirms what we have been talking about in our All Together Now! campaign about income inequality, “says James Clancy, National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). “Workers across the country  are working harder and longer than ever before, only to see their wages frozen and rolled back or jobs eliminated, while CEOs enjoy the riches of our labour. This report reveals just how dramatic the wage divide really is.”

“As the report shows, stock options are comprising more and more of a CEO’s compensation. This becomes a huge problem, since they only pay half the tax rate on these options. These loopholes are one of the reasons why tax fairness remains at the heart of our campaign,” Clancy continued. “They are unfair to other Canadians who pay their fair share, but more so they are just bad for the Canadian economy.”

“Think of what $1 billion in lost revenue could do for the country. We need a federal government that will start making changes to address this growing divide.”

More information:

All in a Day’s Work? CEO pay in Canada

All Together Now! campaign

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada’s largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE

CLC endorses consumer boycott of Labatt imports: St. John’s brewery workers on strike since April

Posted on by

August 15, 2013     http://www.canadianlabour.ca

Labatt brewery strike escalates with a CLC boycott

OTTAWA ― The Canadian Labour Congress has endorsed a national consumer boycott against a number of imported brands of Labatt beer and is calling on the company to return to the bargaining table.

“This is a David and Goliath struggle between about 50 local workers and the world’s largest multi-national brewing corporation trying to force its employees into a race to the bottom,” says CLC President Ken Georgetti. “Canadian workers and their unions are not going to stand idly by and allow this to happen.”

The workers in St. John’s have been on strike since April 10. They are members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public Employees (NAPE/NUPGE). Their employer is the Canadian division of the Anheuser-Busch InBev brewing corporation, which has after-tax profits of more than $9 billion.

“This multi-national company is trying in St. John’s to impose concessions and roll-backs on its employees which would establish a precedent for its other unionized workers across the globe,” says Georgetti. “We can’t allow them to get away with that.” 

The national consumer boycott was requested by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), the national union to which the striking workers belong. The Labatt imports being targeted for boycott include Stella Artois, Becks, and Lowenbrau. The focus is on imported products in order to prevent other unionized Labatt employees in Canada from experiencing a loss of work.

In Newfoundland and Labrador people are also being urged to boycott a number of other Labatt beers, including Budweiser, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith’s and Kokanee.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils.

Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca
Follow us on Twitter @CanadianLabour

Contact: Dennis Gruending, CLC Communications: Tel. 613-526-7431.
Cell-text: 613-878-6040. Email: dgruending@clc-ctc.ca