Australia criticises 'sickening' executive salaries

The Australian government yesterday criticised "sickening" executive salaries after a company which sacked 1,850 people was accused of tripling the pay of its chief executive officer.

Clothing manufacturer Pacific Brands paid CEO Sue Morphet €942,000 last year, sharply up from the €538,000 dollars she received in 2007, media reported.

The company said Ms Morphet's pay increase was the result of a promotion from divisional general manager to chief executive officer, but politicians jumped on the story to attack top pay packages.

"To see that a privileged few are doing so well at a time when thousands of workers are being retrenched is frankly sickening," Treasurer Wayne Swan told reporters.

The Greens party announced it would move legislation in Parliament to cap salaries at a million dollars (€507,000), while Mr Swan said "the government is looking at all options".

"I think Australians want to see a fair system for all and I think they are rightly sickened when they see some executives walk away with large payments and many workers walk away with virtually nothing," he said.

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said Australia had a "serious problem with excessive executive pay and payouts" and the government was committed to "push back in the other direction".

The idea of capping executive pay has gained popular support around the world as the collapse of the financial sector plunges economies into recession.

Australia's unemployment rate hit a two-and-a-half-year high of 4.8 per cent last month and the government has forecast the jobless rate to hit five per cent by June as the global economic downturn bites.