Coronacisis delays obscene pay rise for YBS Directors.

As online voting for the Yorkshire Building Society AGM closes, it’s worth noting that the Board withdrew a proposal to double Directors’ potential bonuses due to the Coronacrisis. It is obscene that this proposal was put forward – & by a mutual society.

The tired old cosy club argument of company directors, Housing Association & local council Chief Execs, University Vice Chancellors, premier league footballers & top journalists is trotted out. They have to pay in line with market competition. A nonsense that the best people will only work for obscene amounts of money. & if true, if you pay execs half or a quarter will the people you get who want to do the job be half as good. I very much doubt it, but much better value for money. Those who support the values of a mutual, those who want do the public service role of Housing Association, local authority, University, those who want to play for a top Club because it is that Club, will do so.

For the banks & building societies and investment companies – cut the pay and give all savers an extra couple of quid. (In one line in a 2013 essay I called this pact between shareholders (controllers of votes of) and executives an unholy alliance. And wrote a latter critique (focused on BT in this case) here:
https://kironreid.co.uk/2019/01/02/how-to-end-the-obscenely-excessive-executive-pay-at-bt-and-other-top-firms/

Liberator 362 October 2013 can be downloaded here:
https://liberatormagazine.org.uk/en/document/liberator-issues-2013/liberator-362#document

Posted in abridged form on Twitter.