Directors' pay rises 'average 4%'

THE claim that bosses receive huge salaries while workers are poorly paid is challenged by a report. Most directors collected average pay rises of only 4% last year, it says.

A poll of 4,500 company chiefs revealed their salaries increased in line with other workers at just above the rate of inflation, said the Institute of Directors.

Unions have argued that executives can earn up to 20 times as much as workers. But the IoD said its poll showed that only bosses of the biggest companies could expect multi-million-pound packages.

The report found that directors' pay averaged £63,000 - much less than many union bosses are paid. Almost half of bosses surveyed received rises last year of 3% or less.

George Cox, director-general of the IoD, said: 'Very high rewards are confined to the largest companies - where you find the odd example of excess.'

A TUC spokesman said: 'This survey confirms the huge gap between the relatively small number of directors of our biggest companies and everyone else, including directors of relatively small firms.'