Income gap between directors and workers widens at big Dutch firms

The income gap between senior executives and ordinary workers at the biggest Dutch listed companies stretched last year and will continue to widen, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday.

The basic salary for chief executives rose by an average of 5.2% more than inflation, almost three times as much as the average salary, the paper says.

The average CEO salary is now around €1m but including cash bonuses and options it mounted up to €3.7m last year, a rise of 12%. By contrast, the average salary in the Netherlands as a whole was up 1.5% at €35,000, figures from the government’s macro-economic planning agency show.

Social affairs minister Lodewijk Asscher wants works councils to be given the power to have internal salary ratios included in their talks with management and the European Commission has also called for more transparency, the FD points out.

Shell boss Ben van Beurden is the biggest earner, with a total 2014 pay package worth €15.4m. Second is Gemalto’s Olivier Pieu, with a €12.1m deal and third Paul Polman of Unilever with €8.1m.