Wage restrictions for bosses?

thor

We always hear about a wage cap for footballers so why don't we have a wage cap for the bosses of the nationalised banks? Let's set it at the PM's salary.
I suppose they will start bleating about how if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys and that the 'best talent' will move elsewhere but it is these so called 'best talent' who got us in the pit we are now. It is not a hard job and I'm sure there are many people who could come off the street and not manage to lose billions of pounds the way Sir Fred did!

Mozette

thor wrote: »

We always hear about a wage cap for footballers so why don't we have a wage cap for the bosses of the nationalised banks? Let's set it at the PM's salary.
I suppose they will start bleating about how if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys and that the 'best talent' will move elsewhere but it is these so called 'best talent' who got us in the pit we are now. It is not a hard job and I'm sure there are many people who could come off the street and not manage to lose billions of pounds the way Sir Fred did!

I quite agree. I love the argument of 'if we don't pay huge salaries we'll get sub-standard people'... erm...?

nearlynew

And yet when it comes to us lesser mortals, it's all about "the dignity of working" not what you are paid.

PasturesNew

For every job, there are a whole raft of people qualified, experienced, willing and able enough to move into it. There will always be other people, maybe better, who just didn't get the job the last time it was up for grabs.

Michael Jackson - King of Pop. Died. Music won't stop, we'll still have music. Whose shoes did he fill? Nobody is so great they are irreplaceable, especially if it's a job and not a talent.

globalds

So how do you intend to cut these salaries ,bonuses ,pensions ,dividends,allowances..?

This is all part of the free market package ...The market is allowed to determine the worth of each of it's parts ..

I think there may well be an exodus of the Merchant Aristocrats ...I honestly can't see how we can afford to keep them in London ...regardless of how much the case is argued of the huge amounts they bring into the UK ..

Mozette

globalds wrote: »

So how do you intend to cut these salaries ,bonuses ,pensions ,dividends,allowances..?

This is all part of the free market package ...The market is allowed to determine the worth of each of it's parts ..

I think there may well be an exodus of the Merchant Aristocrats ...I honestly can't see how we can afford to keep them in London ...regardless of how much the case is argued of the huge amounts they bring into the UK ..

What exactly is 'the market' though? A group of mutual backscratchers who set their own rules between themselves and help each other out to keep their own noses in the trough?

MPs for example; pay a decent wage, then when the olympics are over, house them in the athletes quarters when they need to stay in London. If I chose to do a job miles away from my home and chose to have a second home, what expenses would I get.
Oh yeah, none.:rolleyes:

andygb

Mozette wrote: »

What exactly is 'the market' though? A group of mutual backscratchers who set their own rules between themselves and help each other out to keep their own noses in the trough?

MPs for example; pay a decent wage, then when the olympics are over, house them in the athletes quarters when they need to stay in London. If I chose to do a job miles away from my home and chose to have a second home, what expenses would I get.
Oh yeah, none.:rolleyes:

Excellent second point Mozette, and exactly what I was thinking when the expenses scandal hit the headlines. If finely tuned athletes can live in these surroundings, and be expected to perform at their best, then why can't the lazy, greedy, preening politicians?
I worked for twenty three years in London, and commuted every day, spending £3000 a year, and working (including travel) from 6.00 in the morning until 8.00 at night. Sometimes I worked longer hours, and had to provide food for myself, all coming out of my salary.
All of the above was deducted from a just above average wage salary, I would love to see the politicians manage that.
As for the bankers, why do we tolerate reward for failure? Why do we succumb to the myth, that we have to pay extraordinary wages to employ these people?
As far as I am concerned, the leader of this country (irrespective of their party, or my personal view on politics), should be paid a fair wage when compared with the people at the top of their profession in the private sector.
I personally think, that the people looking after the money, are being paid far too much.

Generali

thor wrote: »

We always hear about a wage cap for footballers so why don't we have a wage cap for the bosses of the nationalised banks? Let's set it at the PM's salary.
I suppose they will start bleating about how if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys and that the 'best talent' will move elsewhere but it is these so called 'best talent' who got us in the pit we are now. It is not a hard job and I'm sure there are many people who could come off the street and not manage to lose billions of pounds the way Sir Fred did!

If bankers are going to be part of the Civil Service then it makes sense for them to be on a Civil Service pay scale (pay, perks, pension etc).

Of course to do that would mean disregarding contract law which would then presumably set a precident that any commercial contract could be broken by whim of a cabinet minister (I don't recall a Parliamentary vote on bank Nationalisation so all this is being done by Diktat presumably).

andygb

Generali wrote: »

If bankers are going to be part of the Civil Service then it makes sense for them to be on a Civil Service pay scale (pay, perks, pension etc).

Of course to do that would mean disregarding contract law which would then presumably set a precident that any commercial contract could be broken by whim of a cabinet minister (I don't recall a Parliamentary vote on bank Nationalisation so all this is being done by Diktat presumably).

When hundreds of thousands of public service workers were made redundant in the Thatcher years (due to the private sector winning the contracts), did anyone say a word about "contract law"?
We do not have nationalisation of the banks, we have a situation where the taxpayer is liable for the debts, and the banks are lining their own pockets, by cutting staff at the bottom of the food chain, and maintaining huge pay rewards and bonuses for those at the top.
The fact that the bankers have been put on a pedestal for so long, has caused them to become ever more arrogant, whatever they do results in larger rewards for them. We should have gone the whole hog, and set down strict rules (not guidelines, because they are too easy to bend) on salary, and terms and conditions, and most importantly of all - accountability. If they screw up, then they get sacked like anyone else, and do not receive a "Golden parachute" (A la Fred Goodwin) for failure.

Andy_L

andygb wrote: »

When hundreds of thousands of public service workers were made redundant in the Thatcher years (due to the private sector winning the contracts), did anyone say a word about "contract law"?

No, because their contract was not breached.

wigglebeena

nearlynew wrote: »

And yet when it comes to us lesser mortals, it's all about "the dignity of working" not what you are paid.

That's when you offer to swap salaries with the manager who tells you you should be working for love of the job and giving your top performance out of self-respect, not working for money. Because presumably they act on their own advice.