Top bosses see their pay rise by over 50%

IRELAND’s top bosses saw their pay rise by more than 50% in the past year, with some chief executives earning over €380,000 a year.

According to the annual executive survey compiled by the Irish Management Institute (IMI), chief executives of Ireland’s largest companies saw their pay rise from €249,600 in 2002 to €386,325 this year.

The pay survey shows that at all levels of management there have been pay rises above the rate of inflation and higher than those awarded to employees under the national pay agreement.

Executives are also in line for salary increases of up to 6% in 2004 following an average rise of 4.7% this year.

Under the terms of the Sustaining Progress pay agreement employees will receive pay increases of 7% over 18 months. The IMI survey said managers were optimistic about the future and were expecting their pay to rise by 4%-6% next year.

IMI chief executive Barry Kenny said middle managers did best on average in 2003 with an 8% rise in their salaries.

“With inflation on the way down, this implies a return to pay growth well ahead of inflation, reflecting the strong recovery in the US and the expectation of a return to growth in the Irish economy,” Mr Kenny said.

Depending on the size of the company, the pay for chief executives ranges from €85,000 to €386,325; for middle management pay ranges from €37,000 to €99,000. Although though salaries are rising, bonuses are falling, the IMI found, with six out of every 10 chief executives receiving a bonus of less than 25% of the value of their basic pay.

Company cars are fast becoming a thing of the past. Only 51% of bosses were given a company car in 2003 compared to 88% five years ago.

The survey also found women were still struggling to reach the top of the corporate ladder, with just 3% of Irish firms run by women. At middle manager level men are also dominant with 77% of all executive posts.